The Fell Winter
by Torun
Summary: Even a small pebble can start a landslip, and as evil stirs in Middle Earth an unlikely person starts changing history as we know it.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers:** The only thing I own is my own imagination.

**A/N:** This AU is connected to the events in _the Hobbit_ and I have chosen to treat the films and the book plus events in the appendix as one story, to make story telling easier. The world and the most characters are from Middle Earth, but the story is heavily influenced by Astrid Lindgren's adventure books for children; _The Brothers Lionheart_, _Mio, My Son_ and _Ronia, The Robber's Daughter_. My main character is basically a adult female version of Bo Vilhelm Olsson with hints of Ronia, and Middle Earth is pretty much a Nangijala and the Land Far Away with a winter like in Mattis's forest. It's not an actual cross over, but anyone who has read these books will probably feel at home here.

I have also mucked about with the time line and where and when certain characters shows up. There's also a lot of headcanon involved here, mainly for political reasons. I simply can't fit myself into Tolkien's world view when it comes to some things, which is why this is an AU story.

* * *

Marigold Smith, to most known as Mari, did not believe in an afterlife. She was too young to consider such things. We walk through our lives thinking we'll live at least until we're old, in some distant future, when the reality is that death can take us any second. She did not think it would happen to her any time soon, and why should it? Healthy and hale, a non-smoker who didn't over indulge in anything. She should live forever.

It wasn't anything special about that autumn day when she was on her way to her newly acquired work. Leafs were slowly shifting in colour and the weather was grey, even if there was a hint of a pale sun behind the clouds.

Since she left school at 19, she'd had a string of jobs, beginning at the local pub, then moved on to making espresso and latte in coffee shops, and eventually found a job as a waitress in a brasserie. Recession's tightening grip on her native home had enabled her adventurous side, and with a large bag with her most precious belongings, she moved to a new life, a new language – and loneliness. She had landed a job at an up-scale restaurant south of the river, complete with a wine bar, expensive art on the walls, and a glorious view of the river slowly moving past.

She wasn't happy.

Little did she know her existence was about to change dramatically, and all simply because she didn't pay attention.

This afternoon, as on so many afternoons, she was going over the evening specials as she hurried down the street, not paying much attention to what was going on around her. A fairly large man, clearly not paying much attention to his surrounding either, bumped into her and she was sent stumbling to her right where another fellow pedestrian bumped into her.

"Sorry! Sorry," she exclaimed as she nearly tripped over her own feet. One step, two steps – and her foot snagged on the shoelaces to her All Star Converses. She fell, throwing out her hands to brace herself against the pavement, completely missing the bins on the curb. With a dull thud she slammed into one of them and with her head, before her body hit the concrete slabs on the pavement. She never realised what happened.

It was dark when she pried her eyelids open. As she was staring into the darkness, she tried to remember what had happened and if at all possible, where she was. Her head ached, as did her left side and arm. Slowly she turned her head in the darkness, trying to see something in the inky blackness. The outlines of a window caught her eye, and through it she saw a clear night sky. With a frown she realised she wasn't home. She had no recollection of this place.

Moving carefully she eased herself up on her right elbow, taking in the dark shapes in the room she was in. Then she remembered. She had tripped. The pain must come from her body hitting the ground. Dropping her eyes to the floor, she brought her hand up to her head, feeling a bump at the side, hidden under her by now rather messy hair. Her neck radiated pain when she tipped her head in a specific way and she carefully examined the vertebrae, sliding her fingers from the base of her skull and down. Nothing.

With her feet on the floor, she stood and made her way to the door, gripping the handle and opening it. The hallway outside was awash with a soft yellow slightly flickering light, warming the rounded walls, panelled halfway up. The hardwood floor under her feet was surprisingly warm and had finely woven rugs on it.

For a long while she stood in the doorway listening to the silence. No voices could be heard and outside it was equally quiet. She realised with a frown that she couldn't hear any traffic at all, which she honestly should, considering the city she lived in. Haltingly she padded towards the light, peeking around a corner into a fairly large parlour. At the opposite wall, a large hearth was alight with a warming fire, candles were lit in the room, and in front of the fire sat a person with curly sandy hair. She, because it was a woman, wore something looking rather archaic, and in her hands were a crochet hook which she was using to create something looking suspiciously like a hat.

Mari cleared her throat and the woman turned towards her, revealing a round face belonging to someone middle aged.

"Ah there you are!" she exclaimed, unceremoniously dropping the work in her hands into a basket next to her, and got on her feet. Mari couldn't help herself. She stared at the woman's feet and her jaw dropped slightly. Her eyes flipped between the woman's face and her feet as the woman spoke. Her feet were unusually large, somewhat hairy, and she didn't wear any socks or shoes.

"You've been out cold these past five hours, and by the look of things you had been unconscious a while before that," she continued. "How's your head dear?"

Mari raised her hand to her bump and frowned. "It's a bit painful and I've got a headache," she replied and looked back at the woman now standing in front of her.

"I can imagine that! Now tell me, what were you doing on the road between Tuckborough and Woodhall? You didn't look like you were dressed for travels, but you're not from around here."

Mari stared at the woman as she opened and closed her mouth. "Tuckborough?" she asked incredulously.

"Oh, of course you wouldn't know where that is! And I'm rude too. I'm sorry my dear. Viola is my name. Viola Took. You are currently in Tuckborough. Are you hungry?"

"Took," Mari repeated, slightly dazed. How was it possible? She must be dreaming. "Um, I am, actually," she continued.

"Well then! Let's have a little late supper, just you and me," Viola said and disappeared on quick but silent feet.

Mari stared after her for long moments, before she pinched herself hard in her leg. It hurt and felt very real. She followed the sounds and found herself in a kitchen where Viola was busy putting a kettle on a wood stove. Viola looked up and smiled warmly.

"Sit down dear," she urged Mari, who did as she was asked.

"Does the young lady have a name?" Viola asked as she brought out bread and started cutting it up in slices. Mari started at the home-made bread before lifting her eyes to meet Viola's.

"I'm sorry." She was embarrassed and her cheeks heated up. "I didn't mean to be rude."

"Don't worry lass. You were rendered unconscious. No wonder you're not quite yourself." Viola smiled and started bringing out plates and cutlery.

"I'm Mari. Marigold Smith, but everyone calls me Mari." She paused for a moment. "And I'm not from around here," she added quietly.

"Oh, that would be blatantly obvious," Viola grinned. "Pleased to meet you Miss Smith."

"Just . . . Mari. Please. If that's all right."

"Certainly." The kettle whistled and Viola turned to the stove.

With her eyes darting around the kitchen, Mari opened her mouth to speak again. "So . . . this is . . . the Shire?" she asked.

"That would be correct."

"How's that even possible?" Mari whispered with her wide eyes on Viola. She stopped short and considered the younger woman with a slightly furrowed brow. Mari stood and quickly closed the distance between, them with her eyes taking in everything about Viola.

"Are you well, dear?" Viola asked with a concerned voice.

A small surprised laughter escaped Mari. "You're not so small after all," she said with wonder in her voice.

Viola smiled slightly. "Oh, I wouldn't say that. Men and Elves are much taller. Dwarves tend to be not only taller, even if it's not by much, but also considerably wider."

"But I read . . ." She looked down at herself, at her familiar jeans and the white waitress shirt she had put on before she hurried from her home. "I'm short. Short as you," she added, her surprise obvious.

"Dear, are you certain you are well?" Viola asked and put down the teapot before she fully turned towards Mari.

"Yes. Yes! I'm sorry if I sound like a loon, but the strangest thing has happened. I hardly believe it myself," Mari said with wonder in her voice. "To be honest I don't even know exactly what happened."

They sat down and Viola poured tea in delicate cups as Mari watched, gathering her thoughts.

"I think . . . I'm from another world," Mari begun. "But the strange thing is, I know much about yours. It's a story in our world; a fairy tale of sorts. It's a bit much to wrap my head around, to be honest, that this place really exists." Mari's eyes wandered over the room once more.

"It does sound like quite a story," Viola said.

"It does, doesn't it?" Mari replied. "I don't blame you for not believing me. I wouldn't."

"We live in a world with wizards, dear. Plenty of things are possible," Viola said drily.

Mari's eyes grew wide. "Gandalf?" she asked.

"Oh yes," Viola smiled.

Mari smacked her hand over her mouth and stared at Viola. "I take it you know him?" Viola asked.

"No! I mean, I know _of_ him. And of Saruman, Radagast and . . . Oh I don't remember if there are any others. There are, aren't there?" She cocked her head slightly to the side. "What year is it?"

"1338, by Shire reckoning. 2938, as the Big Folk say," Viola replied and reached for a slice of bread.

Mari shook her head. "Amazing. I think you need to tell me all that has happened, because I don't know if I can trust a fairy tale."

"No, that's most likely not the wisest thing," Viola smiled. "If you don't mind me asking, what manner of person are you? You're short like us Hobbits, but your feet are so small. As are your ears." Viola leaned a little to her side looking after Mari's ears.

Mari dipped her eyes and picked up the honey to deposit some in her hot beverage. "I'm a Human. Like Men, but apparently small around here." She stirred the tea and brought the cup to her lips. "Not that I was huge back home. 5'2"," she smiled. "I seems to have shrunk a bit. Ten inches or so, perhaps?"

"Seems about right," Viola agreed. She buttered her slice and added on a bit of ham and some gherkins.

Putting her cup down, Mari slowly put her hand, palm down on the surface. "I really don't know how I ended up here and if I can go back home." She sighed. "I doubt it." Realisation that she was in an entirely different world with no obvious way home hit her with full force. "What am I going to do?" The question wasn't really aimed at Viola, but she leaned over the table and put her hand over Mari's.

"Take one day at the time, dear. Eat some and then sleep. Tomorrow we'll start thinking about that. We'll help you, that I promise, lass."

Mari met Viola's eyes. "Thank you."

* * *

With no proper curtains to draw in front of the window, the morning light woke her up early. The sun was peeking out behind the hills, and Mari opened the window to look outside without any hindering glass panes. It was so picturesque it almost hurt, she realised. It was autumn here as well, and a large solitary tree at the distance had flaming branches in red and orange. The air was rather chilly, but it would probably be reasonably warm as the sun rose.

She pulled her head inside and closed the window, turning to look around. There was a washbasin and a pitcher on a table in a corner and she went over there to clean up a bit. She would have to ask how these things worked here, she realised, missing her toothbrush.

Dressed in her jeans and shirt, she left the room, heading for the kitchen. Voices told her she'd finally meet some of the other inhabitants of this home, and her step faltered a bit. Viola was nice – very nice in fact – but she felt nervous when thinking about other family members.

She turned the corner and found herself faced with what seemed to be the entire Took family. Viola cheerfully greeted her and motioned for her to sit, which she did. To her right were two young women, pretty the way Hobbits seemed to be; buxom, with curly hair, rosy skin and large blue eyes. They seemed to find Mari utterly fascinating and introduced themselves as Primula and Marguerite. Viola's husband, Isembard, was a friendly man, curious and gentle – and son of the current Thain. The younger son, he pointed out.

Mari couldn't contain her curiosity and quickly led the conversation in a direction other than herself. She asked questions about Shire history and got a reasonably brief summary, with just a few embellishments. It was enough to understand that most of what she knew was correct, though details sometimes seemed to be different.

Breakfast over, the family dispersed. Isembard, Prim and Marge (as they apparently were called in general) left to visit their elderly relative, the Thain. Viola on the other hand, took charge over Mari's life, in the most natural way, and Mari found she actually didn't mind. Well, aside for the fact that she had no idea how to repay these people for their kindness, a thought which made her feel slightly uneasy.

"We'd better equip you a bit better," Viola said and led the way down one of the corridors. They entered a fairly large room. Viola crossed it to a large wardrobe, opening it and revealing plenty of clothes inside.

"I think we could find you something fitting here," the older woman stated and started rifling through the garments. "Any particular colour you like?"

"Blue . . . I like blue," Mari replied and stared at the contents of the wardrobe.

Out of the closet came what looked similar to an 18th century peasant dress with a dove-blue bodice in velvet, a cotton skirt in a lighter shade with a flower print the same colour as the bodice and a chemise in linen, with ruffles along the neckline and the end of the three quarter sleeves. After some more digging came a hooded wool cloak in that same colour.

"There you go. You're on the Mariy side, but this one was Belladonna Took's, not mine, so it should fit."

Mari's eyes almost fell out of her skull. "Bilbo's mother?" she blurted.

Viola smiled widely. "That she is. You know about Mr. Baggins?"

Mari nodded. "I do yes. He's in our stories." She reached out and touched the velvet bodice.

Viola chortled. "Imagine that. Wonder why he got any attention. Baggins he is, through and through. Not particularly fond of making a spectacle of himself, so it would seem unlikely he'd be noticed. He's half-Took though."

Mari smiled knowingly. "He's more of a Took than you think," she said and held up the dress.

Viola studied her closely. "I'm starting to wonder if you know a thing or two about what's to come."

"Perhaps. But from what you've told me so far, not everything has happened as in our stories, so whatever I have heard should be taken with a bucket of salt, I think," Mari replied somewhat evasively. She realised her knowledge of this would could become a bit problematic, and she didn't feel like becoming an oracle. That could end pretty badly, she decided.

Viola nodded. "Now, let me help you get that dress on."

Mari's jeans and shirt came off and a pair of bloomers and a chemise on. A ruffled underskirt materialised and was pulled down over her head and fastened around her waist. Next came the floral skirt and then the bodice, thankfully with hidden hooks at the front, making dressing fairly easy, and not too tight. She might even be able to run in it, she realised.

She brushed her hair, borrowed pins from Viola and rolled up her hair at the nape of her neck, pinning into place. After a short introduction to general Hobbit hygiene, Viola deemed her ready to meet the world. Mari lifted her skirt and looked down at her bare feet with a frown.

"I need shoes," she said. "Not the ones I had coming here, but... something. I don't have the same soles you have."

"I suspected you would want such things, and I have a plan," Viola said, again leading the way. "In Bree there's a shoemaker, and if we take the pony and the cart, we could make the journey there and back in a couple of days." With a twinkle in her eyes she half-turned towards Mari. "A fine little adventure, if you don't mind."

"I'm probably more Tookish than anyone around, so I don't mind," Mari chuckled.

Viola's eyes twinkled. "I suspected as much, dear."

She had been right about the day. The chill from the morning was gone and it was a nice warm day, though not hot. Tuckborough showed itself from its prettiest autumn side, with sparkling reds, oranges and yellows and the sky was clear blue with a depth to it so typical of autumn. People were already milling about, and Viola was soon very busy introducing Mari to the neighbourhood. It took an hour to reach the market just down the hill.

Mari was content carrying the basket, as Viola cruised around, buying all sorts of things, from lamp oil to spices. Viola stopped by a bench where some distinguished elderly ladies sat with their knitting and made her usual introduction of Mari. Viola was promptly informed about the latest gossip from around the other villages, in particular about the questionable neutrality of one judge in some farmer's market competition.

For a while Mari stood trying to look interested, but as the discussion turned to gossip about what the winner in the hog competition possibly could feed his animal, she had enough. Viola waved her off and Mari slowly wandered through the market place on her own, enjoying the atmosphere. As she reached the other end of the market clanging noises reached her ears, and curiosity drove her further onwards.

She let the sound lead her away from the crowd and as she rounded the apothecary, she stopped in surprise, staring at the buildings in front of her. As everything in the Shire, even this looked quaint, despite it being something as messy as a forge. The actual forge was open to the yard she had entered and there was plenty of activity in there. Next to it was a rather large barn, by the look of things, converted to live in.

What really made her stare was not the fact that there was a forge in the Shire, because honestly, Hobbits needed metal work done as much as anyone else, but the fact that those who were running the business were Dwarves.

That she hadn't heard of in the stories.

She slowly ventured closer, peeking inside. Dwarves aside, she had never seen a real forge before, and she followed the work with interest. A young dark haired man was holding a piece of iron with tongs and an older grey-haired one was beating the living daylight out of it. As it turned orange in colour it was quickly put back in the coal mound, white-hot at its centre when the young man poked around in it.

The grey-haired man pumped the bellows for a while and then the iron came out again, was pounded on, and went back into the coal. They worked efficiently together, and soon she understood that they were making gate hinges. Large ones for farm yard gates. She could tell the two were aware of her presence, and she hoped they wouldn't be bothered by it. Considering the pace with which they produced the hinges, they probably weren't.

Metal hit water again, sizzling with frenzy, and the older man nodded in Mari's direction, causing the younger to turn and look at her. He said something in an oddly clipped language, as he glanced at the grey-haired one, and then he crossed the clay floor towards her.

"Good morning Miss. Can I help you?" he called out with an easy smile, dark eyes sparkling.

She smirked a bit as she realised who he was, and she sighed inwardly. Oh how she wished she could tell people back home that this was all real! It was astonishing though, to find Dwarves here, and not just any Dwarves but a particular displaced family. They shouldn't be, but they were.

"Don't mind me," she replied and found herself unable to not smile back at him. "I don't have a particular errand actually. Just looking around."

"Are you new here Miss?" he asked and tilted his head as his eyes went to her bare feet and then back up at her ears.

The scrutiny made her a bit self-conscious and she begun fingering a fold in her skirt.

"You could say that," she admitted, wondering how she was going to explain her presence here.

"If you don't mind me saying so, you don't look much like a Hobbit, Miss."

She smiled at that. Hello Mr. Obvious, she thought. "That would be because I'm not a Hobbit, master Dwarf," she said, conscious that she should be careful revealing that she knew exactly who he was.

"That explains a few things, yes," he grinned. "I'm Kili, at your service," he added with a slight bow.

"And I'm Marigold Smith, but I'm usually only called Mari." She curtsied, feeling absolutely ridiculous, but when in Rome . . .

"You have a somewhat Hobbit-like name though," Kili said.

She nodded and glanced down at herself, feeling a bit like she had dressed up for a convention. "I suppose so, but I haven't heard of anyone taking a family name after your profession."

The grey haired man called out Kili's name and Mari took a closer look at him and recognised him too. Dori. Did that mean Ori was nearby? It had to, she decided. Kili turned and then glanced back at her again.

"Go! I was only looking anyway," she urged, shooing at him with a grin.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Mari," he said, gave her a quick nod and turned back inside, gripping the tongs again. They went to work on something new and the same process repeated itself, though this time they created the wicked-looking blade to a scythe. Kili looked up at her from time to time and grinned and her lips quirked upwards in response.

Dori gave her a once-over too and muttered something to Kili, who replied, and she got the distinct feeling she was being talked about. The discussion went back and forth while Kili kept eyeing her in the corner of his eye, until he turned to pick the metal out of the coals once more.

She took one step backwards to start leaving, when a hand on her shoulder startled her and she whipped around, facing Viola who smiled and nodded at the men inside.

"I see you found our very own Dwarves," Viola said and turned her head back to look at Mari.

"I did. Didn't know there were any here. Don't they live in Ered Luin?" she asked and glanced inside again at the Dwarves hammering away.

"Some do yes. Quite many years ago, before I was born, a few came through here and decided to stay, and they've been here ever since in Tuckborough." She nodded inside. "And I see the young ones have come back. That dark haired lad and his brother are travellers for the most part, but they prefer to be here in the Shire when they come back home."

"Travellers? What do they do?" Mari asked.

"Young master Kili there is a fine archer and is a hired arm for merchants travelling between Ered Luin and Gondor in the south." Viola turned and begun to slowly walking away and Mari followed her, after a quick glance over her shoulder.

"The poor lads lost their father at some point, and their mother was one of those who came here, bringing her boys. Right honourable lady that is," Viola continued.

Mari scrunched her face and Viola chuckled. "I can tell you know something of this."

"Sort of. Her name is Dis, isn't it?" Mari asked.

"Correct." Viola nodded.

"Does their uncle live? Thorin Oakenshield?" She racked her brain for the year these Dwarves had gone off to Erebor. Viola had said the year was 2938. In the story they were to die in 2941. Three years left, she surmised.

Viola gave her a long thoughtful look. "He does, though he resides in Ered Luin."

"Wow," Mari breathed and stared unseeingly ahead. "It's so . . . fantastic that it's all here," she mused quietly. "With a few alterations, of course. I knew Kili is an archer actually." She turned to look at Viola. "Do you think we could go and visit Mr. Baggins some day?" she asked.

Viola laughed heartily. "Certainly. But I must warn you – he's rather shy and not much for novelty."

Mari smiled. "I think he can handle guests for afternoon tea, don't you think?"

"Of course. We'll bring some of the others too. Make a proper family visit out of it."

* * *

Mr. Baggins was exactly the disappointment she had expected him to be. Shy, as Viola had mentioned, and an entirely proper Hobbit. Mari found it utterly fascinating to study him and he wasn't unaware of her scrutiny, but it was almost painfully obvious that he had no idea of how to handle it.

"You're making Mr. Bilbo blush, Mari!" Prim whispered in her ear.

"Don't understand why," she whispered back.

"Because you're a girl. He has always been shy around women and I don't think he'll ever marry. Although . . . He might out of desperation to keep the Sackville-Bagginses from inheriting this place."

Mari turned towards Prim and snorted. "Right! Lobelia! I had forgotten about her."

"That woman? She knows everything ever written in every letter you'll ever receive, before they're even written. Don't know why she is like that really. Mother says she was disappointed as a young woman, which is why she thinks Lobelia turned so bitter and angry."

With a sigh Mari turned her eyes back to Bilbo. "Poor woman."

"You sympathise with her?" Prim asked in disbelief.

"In a way, yes." Mari's smile was sad. "I don't think now is the time to explain why. Perhaps later."

People around them had finished their meal. Mari got on her feet, gathering plates and cutlery, stacking the plates high on her left arm, quickly working her way around the table.

"No, Miss Mari, there's no need for you to clear the table," Bilbo begun and stood, though he wasn't quite sure what to do. She smiled warmly at him.

"Mr. Baggins," she said and came to a stop in front of him. "I have done this for years back home. It's not a problem for me to at least help you clear the table. But don't worry, you still get to do the dishes." She marched down towards the kitchen and once she was there, she rinsed the plates, forks, knives and spoons and stacked the plates properly.

As she came back to the table Bilbo was sitting down again, glancing at her through his eyelashes, and she couldn't help but fire off a wide smile at him when he forgot himself and openly looked at her. Bilbo's cheeks heated slightly and he looked down at the table in front of him.

"Mari, I almost want to chide you for making poor Bilbo nervous like that. It was downright mischievous of you," Viola said as they had said their goodbyes and were on their way home.

Prim and Marge laughed and Mari smirked. "I simply smiled at him. And he's not as frail and sensitive as you think. He'll come around, you'll see. He's not marrying material, but he has other qualities."

"Can you please tell us!" Marge pleaded, clinging to Mari's right arm.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I don't think Mr. Baggins need to hear about a potential future. _That_ would make him nervous," Mari replied.

* * *

The trip to Bree turned into a family outing, just as the visit at Bag End had been. The journey was pleasant enough with decent weather and not too cold. Viola taught her how to handle the pony equipage and they all took turns on the box. By the evening they finally made it to Bree, and by now the weather had changed and it was pouring down.

Bree was a strange experience. Everything was the wrong size, and yet Mari felt she should fit. The Men really did look like herself, but she was like a child in size. The Took women didn't linger, but acquired a room for the night at the Prancing Pony and left the crowd, ordering food to their room. She had to admit that it was nice to get rid of the moist clothes and wash her cold feet. There would be other opportunities to look at the inhabitants and the place itself the following day.

The visit to the shoemaker turned out to be a rather good one. He had a pair of decent fitting shoes he could sell to Mari immediately, and he took her measurements for several different kind of footwear. She had been made aware that the Hobbits held dances in the Assembly Rooms in Tuckborough, so she ordered some light shoes for dancing. Sturdy leather boots lined with sheep's wool for the upcoming winter seemed like a good idea, and she threw in a pair of slippers too.

They agreed that the shoes were to be picked up by one of the Dwarves when they came by to pick up raw material and leaving goods next time. The shoes were paid for, making Mari feel guilty. Prim linked her arm with hers and led her off, trying to distract her. Mari didn't say much about it, but the Took family was sensitive enough to interpret what was in her eyes.

There were other things to look at and find. Mari needed socks and a specific kind of Elven thread was high on Viola's list. They slowly made their way through the village, stopping here and there to study something they found interesting. For the most part people didn't pay them any attention but a few times when someone threw them a glance, they reacted to Mari. There was something disconcerting about that and she shrunk back, ducking her head and quickening her step, pulling Prim with her.

When they finally left she sat watching the palisade with relief. It was nice knowing they were on their way home to the Shire. She smiled as she mused over the fact that she saw the Shire as her home. A week was all it took. She turned her eyes from Bree and looked towards the west, leaving it behind even in her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimers:** The only thing I own is my own imagination.

**A/N:** I realised I'll be in a state tomorrow afternoon, so I decided you'll get this already today. Enjoy! ETA: I missed one little detail - Mari's name - and by doing so I confused everyone. I'm sorry.

* * *

The Assembly Rooms were quite impressive by Hobbit standards, Mari concluded as she stepped inside. The structure was not built into the ground but stood alone on the opposite end of the market place from the forge. There were several rooms in the building, but the one used for dances was a large hall at the centre of the building. It was lit well and decorated nicely according to the season, and along one wall was a buffet table with lemonade, ale, and wine. Perched on a dais was a group of musicians who already had begun playing. Some couples were dancing already and the rest were milling about, talking and laughing.

Prim linked arms with Mari and pulled her along, snaking through the gathered crowd. When Mari turned to look for Marge, she saw that she had been caught by one of the friends of the sisters', and they were eagerly chatting away. They moved slowly through the crowd, when she spotted something in the corner of her eyes that didn't seem quite Hobbit-like.

She turned her head and yanked Prim to a halt.

"Do the Dwarves often come to these dances?" she asked as Prim slipped close. Prim followed Mari's line of sight.

"Sometimes. When Fili and Kili are home. Ori doesn't go without them, and since those two are gone during the summers . . ." Prim replied as she leaned closer to Mari's ear.

"Blessed are we then," Mari replied drily and Prim snorted.

"Oh you. Come along," Prim said and tugged her onwards.

Soon she was on the dance floor, courtesy Prim's and Marge's male cousins. The rest of the Hobbits seemed to be happy simply staring at her. It was a bit unnerving as she felt like something was wrong with her, the dress she was wearing, or that she was doing something very wrong.

"I feel like a goat in a dress," she grumbled once she had been deposited next to Marge and Prim, by the last cousin. "Everyone is staring at me as if I was hopping around in their garden chewing on their lettuce." She glanced down at her burgundy velvet dress, borrowed from the young woman living next door, who was a bit less buxom than the sisters. It still had required some needle work, around the waist in particular, for it to fit decently.

"People aren't used to you yet. It will come, I promise," Prim reassured her and squeezed her arm.

"So this rule about two dances?" Mari asked and glanced at one her former dance partners, a unpretentious young man who had a wonderful sense of dry humour.

"Strict. Never do that. It will cause a scandal if you dance more than once with the same partner." Marge waggled her brow.

"What? Dancing's that sensitive?" Mari shifted on her feet. If that were true, she'd most likely not dance any more this evening. What a bore.

"That and kissing in public. If it's not under the mistletoe," Prim added and laughed. "Yule is a wonderful time if you have your heart set on someone special."

Mari grumbled, "That horrible little plant."

The sisters laughed and Marge said, "Oh, before you know it you'll find yourself considering it!"

Mari snorted but before she had an answer, the musicians began playing again and Marge and Prim were snatched up on the dance floor. Mari found herself slowly weaving through those not dancing. A bit uncertain as to what to do, she stopped and stood eyeing the buffet table, considering if she should get herself some ale. She wasn't exactly hungry, but the pastries looked tasty. She glanced at the dance floor, but didn't see Prim or Marge.

"Miss Mari!" someone called out, and she turned around and found herself facing the three Dwarves she had noticed earlier.

"Good evening," Kili greeted her with a wide smile.

"Good evening, master Kili," she replied and curtsied, again feeling ridiculous.

"How are you this evening?" he asked politely. She reigned in her smirk at his unmistakeable attempt at making conversation.

"I'm well, thank you. A bit on the bored side now that I've exhausted the selection of young men who will dance with me because they have the misfortune of being related to the Thain family, and have to be polite towards me." She stepped out of the way of a group of children rushing past, keeping her skirts in a tight grip. The two brothers smirked in the corner of her eye.

"I was hoping I could introduce to you my brother Fili, and Ori, who is a distant cousin," Kili continued, with a glint in his eye sparked by her dry humour.

"Fili, at your service," the blond man said, bowing. "Ori, at your service," the third said.

She noticed that Fili and Kili were both dressed in shades of blue, while Ori wore a lavender colour, verging on grey. All three of them wore various themes on shirt laced at the front, long vest, belt and was that leather trousers? Yes, it was. And boots, of course. The two brothers had subtle embroidered details on their belts and vests, and the shirts were woven with an exquisite pattern. It set them apart from Ori, who came across as more plain, not just in his general looks.

"Pleased to meet you," Mari replied, smiling warmly at them and nodded. She couldn't find it in her to curtsey again.

Ori inched himself forward slightly, catching her attention. "I heard you recently came here," he said, watching her with open curiosity.

She turned towards him and nodded. "I did. The details are a bit confusing, I'm afraid." In the corner of her eye she noticed that Fili was eyeing her, first lingering at her ears and then he studied her feet.

She turned her head slightly and peered at him. "And no, I'm not a Hobbit," she said.

Fili met her eyes and smiled. "That much is obvious," he replied. "Forgive my intrusiveness, but it's rare seeing anyone here with shoes on their feet."

She snorted and stretched her left foot out in front of her like a ballerina. "Not only that, they're tiny in comparison." As she looked up, she nearly laughed loudly at the sight of the three men looking down at her foot.

A loud cheer erupted nearby and they all turned to find out at what was going on. It was a bit unclear what the cheering was about, but people were flocking, and Mari was shoved around a bit as curious Hobbits pushed past them.

The three men in front of her seemed generally unbothered by the commotion, probably because their sturdier builds weren't as easy to push around. Their attention came back to her again.

"Do you know how long you will be staying?" Ori asked as he turned his attention back to her.

In a way these were questions she preferred that people didn't ask, because she didn't know what to say. It made her entertain the prospect that she might never go home. As charming as this place could be, it was also light years from what she had grown up with, and sometimes this frayed her nerves. After a month here in the Shire she missed her home, despite all its issues, and it made her sad.

"I have no idea. I may never be able to go home," she replied truthfully. The three of them grew very serious and she swallowed. Well, if anyone would understand her situation, it would be the Dwarves, she reasoned.

She glanced at the dancing couples again. A dance was really not the place for going into depth on the things that had happened to her, things she didn't quite understand herself. Being occasionally bumped into where they stood grated on her nerves.

"Can we just relocate some place a bit less crowded?" she asked with annoyance creeping into her voice, and stumbled slightly again as someone cheerily bounced into her and then moved on.

The three of them were nothing if not efficient. Within a minute she found herself just inside large open double doors leading to the kitchen, sitting on a chair with a flagon of ale in her hands. It was a strategic place, out of reach of anyone stumbling about, yet clearly visible to everyone. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly as she glanced at them, now seated in such a way that they could easily converse without anyone being left out. She looked down at the ale in her hand and opened her mouth to try to explain her situation.

"I don't know exactly how I came here, but I think I come from another world. I have no idea how to go back, or even if I can go back." They glanced at each other and she shrugged.

"It could have been worse. I at least know about this world." She told them about the stories she had grown up with, how she had read the books so many times that she knew passages by heart even.

"So, I know you, sort of. It's both amazing and slightly scary," she concluded. She turned to Ori. "In our stories you're a scribe and you write books." Shifting her head she looked at Kili. "And you are an archer, with a tendency to be... carefree." Her eyes found Fili. "And you're the heir to Erebor, who looks out for your younger, somewhat... venturous, brother."

"Is that a roundabout way of saying I'm reckless?" Kili exclaimed and straightened in his seat. Fili snickered at him and Kili tried to elbow him.

"You do have a tendency to get into trouble from time to time," Ori said with a smile.

Kili threw up a hand, rolled his eyes and slumped in the chair.

"I think those things sound about right," Fili said, catching Mari's eyes. "About us, I mean."

She nodded. "It's such a strange thing, looking at everything, recognising it, and looking at you, and realising you're real."

"Why don't you think you can go back home?" Kili asked, tilting his head slightly as he studied her.

Mari was quiet for a moment. How could she explain physics theories that she didn't completely understand herself, and that might not even apply to what had happened to her?

"I-I . . . don't think I can explain. The theories are beyond where my school education took me," she tried to explain.

"You have gone to school?" Ori's eyes widened with interest.

"I have. Everyone is required to where I come from. I can read, write, I'm decent at maths . . . And there's history, geography, and-," she paused wondering if they understood what she was talking about and then decided to be not so specific.

"We were taught about the world around us, how it works and how living beings function. I know several languages," she continued.

The three men looked at her with astonishment.

"You're very well educated," Ori finally managed.

She made a face. "I haven't gone to university though." With a sigh she realised she didn't make sense to them. "Yes, it's probably pretty decent in this world. It's just that I could have gone further and gained more knowledge in a particular area – say engineering. You know, like building construction. That's something you should be pretty good at, at least from what I've heard of Khazad Dûm and Erebor."

If she had sprouted three heads, they couldn't have looked more surprised. She looked down at her ale and remembered she should drink it. Distracting herself from the situation she brought the flagon to her lips and drank.

"If you don't mind, I would like to hear more about your world, Miss Mari. In more detail. I'd like to document it," Ori said, and her eyes snapped to meet his over the rim of the flagon. She quickly swallowed.

"Of course," she smiled. "I'd love to tell you." She glanced at the two brothers. "I have a question of my own for you." Her eyes came to rest on Fili. "If you don't mind me asking?" He gave her a nod.

"How come you ended up here in the Shire?"

Fili looked incredulously at her. "I thought you knew of this world," he said.

"I do. It's just that some things aren't exactly as it's been told, and this particular bit is missing," she explained.

"But you know about Erebor?" Kili asked, leaning forward looking intently at her, his hands on his knees.

She nodded. "Smaug came from the north, destroyed Dale, laid waste to the land around the Lonely Mountain and drove you all off."

He nodded slowly. "When our father died, our mother told uncle she'd had enough of their way of life, always moving, always in conflict. She left with us to find somewhere peaceful and safe. With her came Dori, a distant cousin, who had been left in charge with Ori when their parents died."

"I know Ori and Dori are brothers," Mari cut in, glancing at Ori.

Fili met Ori's eyes and continued, "Uncle sent Dwalin along with us, just in case something happened. Dwalin is also related to us, more closely than Dori and Ori." He turned his eyes towards the festive crowd.

"I remember it well; we came from the south and the Men's settlements down there, and we walked for a long time, until we came here. Kili was just little, but Ori and I thought it was an amazing adventure, if a bit hard on the legs sometimes." Fili shot Ori a grin, who returned it.

"These aren't mountains, but it's better than the plains in the south, and it was safe." Looking at Kili he asked, "Do you remember when we came here?"

Kili fired off a wide grin which made his eyes sparkle with mischief. "It's one of my first real memories. We hid on top of the apothecary shop and Dwalin was so angry with us when he found us!"

"And that was, what? Seventy years ago?" Mari asked with a slight smile.

"Almost," Fili nodded.

"Amazing," she murmured.

Fili and Kili arched their brows at her. "I'm just twenty-four," she explained. "But we live much shorter lives. Perhaps until we're about a hundred if we're lucky. If I'd been a Hobbit, I'd be about thirty-five? I don't know exactly what age I'd be as a Dwarf. Closer to ninety, I think."

They all looked a bit relieved and Mari gave them a long look. "Did you seriously think I wasn't grown up?" she asked and looked down at herself. She wasn't quite like most of the Hobbit women around, but she wasn't skinny and it had to be very obvious in the kind of dress she was wearing that she wasn't a child.

"Twenty-four is very young," Fili said evasively.

"For a Dwarf yes. And I am young, just not _that _young. I had work and my own place to live in back home."

They glanced at each other and she sighed inwardly and had some more of her ale. She caught sight of Prim who was coming off the dance floor, furiously waving at her. She waved back with a smile. Prim started making her way over when she was intercepted by a young man out looking for a dance. With an apologising mien Prim followed him to the dance floor and now Mari audibly sighed.

"It's going to be a long evening," she grumbled and looked down at the ale, wondering what these people would think if she got plastered. What else was there to do now?

"You could go home early," Ori suggested, and she sensed his sympathy.

"Or you could dance with us and we could talk some more!" Kili said brightly, making her snort in her ale. She smiled brightly at him.

"If we spread them out a bit I could almost last until 11 o'clock," she chirped.

"Better than going home early, if you ask me," Kili replied.

"No one's asking you," Fili smirked and the two brothers ended up shoving and aiming kicks at each other, forcing Mari to lean away from them a bit.

"Well, if that's what it takes to separate the two of you," Mari sighed dramatically, put down her ale next to her chair and stood. "So, are you going to be the respectable gentleman and dance with me?" she asked, looking down at Fili. He smirked up at her and rose, offering his elbow.

"Of course, Miss Mari," he replied and led the way to the dance floor.

* * *

Prim and Marge hovered in the background as Mari said good night to Ori, Fili and Kili and as soon as she turned towards the sisters they caught Mari's arms, leaning in close, whispering as they almost dragged her away.

"I saw you dance with the blond one!" Marge burst out.

"Oh, Marge, she danced with all three of them. Didn't you see that?" Prim asked her sister.

"His name is Fili," Mari cut in, turning towards Marge.

"What did you talk about?" Marge pushed on.

"You gave Lobelia something to talk about anyway," Prim giggled.

Mari rolled her eyes. "It was entirely proper. We talked about my home and how they ended up here in the Shire, about books, and a bit about their travelling, and I happened to dance a dance each with them, which was nice since no one else wanted to."

"Oh but it's the Dwarves. Foreign people," Prim said ominously. Marge giggled and then cleared her throat.

"Right. Well, I'm pretty foreign too," Mari pointed out.

Prim and Marge laughed. "Even better," Prim chuckled.

Mari sighed. "I'm very thankful for them being there, because it would have been pretty lonely, with you both up every dance."

"I'm so sorry, Mari," Marge said, looking a bit guilty.

"It's not your fault." Mari nudged her in her side. "You want to hear about what I'm going to do tomorrow?" she asked.

"Of course!" both sisters exclaimed.

"I'm going to pay a visit to Dis, and speak with Ori," Mari said.

"Which one is Ori?" Marge asked.

"It's the one who wears grey, Marge!" Prim scolded her sister. "Fili is the blond one and Kili is the dark one without a beard. You really should know by now!"

"Who can keep their names apart anyway?" Marge huffed.

Mari and Prim glanced at each other and smirked. "It's not _that_ hard. And it's lavender, not grey," Mari said.

"Why are you going to see Ori?" Prim asked.

"He writes, and he wants to document what I have been through, and my world," Mari replied. "And I thought it would be a very good idea to meet Dis. She's there in the stories, but just as someone everyone talks about. She's Fili and Kili's mother, and Thorin's sister, and she loses her husband, and then . . ." Mari stopped herself just in time. ". . . bad things happen." She sighed. "I just want to meet her." Before she loses everything, Mari added silently.

Prim and Marge sensed the shift in Mari's mood.

"Those bad things? They haven't happened yet, have they?" Marge asked.

Mari was silent for a few moments. "No. No, they haven't."

"Mari," Prim said quietly. "You know about other bad things too, don't you?"

With a sad smile Mari turned her head towards Prim. "Yes."

"People dying?" Marge asked, horrified.

Mari stiffened. "We all die eventually, Marge."

They walked in silence for a while, until Prim spoke up. "I can't imagine what it's like to look at someone and know when they'll die. I don't know if I could bring myself to seek their friendship." Her voice was hollow.

"Well, we never know when death finds us. We make friends, fall in love, have children, and quarrel with family and friends without making up, put things off for another day anyway. We should live as if every moment were the last, but we don't."

"I know some of the people in this world may tear my heart out one day, but they would even if I didn't know what's going to happen. And even if I weren't to make friends with anyone in Middle Earth, I'd still cry when they died, because I know them. Not personally, but I know their story. I can just as well get to know them for real and cherish what I get." Mari sighed. Her throat constricted and she really didn't want to talk about it any more. Tears prickled her eyes and she blinked to get rid of them and sniffled slightly. Marge wrapped her arm around Mari in wordless support as they continued home.

* * *

Dis was plenty of the things Mari had expected. She could be spotted as Thorin's sister a mile away, with the same dark hair, the prominent straight nose and the same presence – but a female version. There was one major difference though, Dis did not carry the weight of the world on her shoulders, and Mari got the distinct feeling that it had nothing to do with her not being the king in exile, but because she was made of sterner stuff. Mari was struck with the realisation that of the two siblings, the wrong one was the leader. She swallowed and dipped her eyes. This was something she couldn't say to anyone, she realised, but when she looked up, Dis smiled knowingly at her.

"Someone has to care for the future," she said, as if she had read Mari's thoughts.

Ori's eyes had darted back and forth between them, but he didn't ask. Mari pressed her lips tightly together to keep words from escaping from her lips, and wasn't quite aware that her whole body radiated sadness, the very thing she didn't want Dis to know about.

"I hear you know about us," Dis said, and Mari nodded, and told her story, aided by Ori who began asking questions, quickly scribbling away. He stopped her from time to time, making a small sketch and asking her to correct it, and she realised that not only did Ori write, he had a real talent for drawing as well.

"Wow Ori, these are amazing," she said in awe as he put some drawings in her hand when she asked him about it. They were landscapes for the most part, but there always were people in them, sometimes in focus and sometimes as part of the landscape. She looked at each one of them and when she came to the last one, she blushed.

"It's me," she whispered. It was from the evening before, when she was dancing. "You drew this from memory?" she asked.

Ori shook his head. "I always carry paper and coal," he replied.

She looked at the drawing again. Ori did draw what he saw truthfully, but with an artistic flair, revealing how he saw her. She looked . . . full of life. With a pang she realised that there were no cameras in this world, and she couldn't capture anything around her. She hardly knew what she looked like these days. Yes, she had a mirror, but in contrast to her world, Middle Earth was not littered with reflective surfaces, catching your reflection whether you wanted them to or not.

"You can have it if you want," Ori said shyly.

Her eyes snapped to him. "Oh, I mean, no, you made it. I was just . . . lost in thought there for a while," she blurted.

Ori smiled. "I can draw more. You could sit for a proper portrait if you want."

She smiled widely. "Which would require me to sit still for a very long time?" she asked.

"Not that long. And we could split it up in half hours to make it easier. It was some time ago I last had the opportunity to make a proper portrait." Ori looked down.

Dis chuckled merrily. "You could never make Fili and Kili sit for that long," she said.

"I managed to convince Kili to stand still for about ten minutes once," Ori said almost triumphantly.

"I don't believe you," Dis replied.

"I have proof. It's about to be printed so it's being engraved for replicating. You'll just have to wait." Ori grinned at her.

"I'm looking forward to it," Dis said drily.

"Ori," Mari cut in, "I'd love to sit for you." She started digging in her small pouch-like purse, pulling something out of it. "Could you . . . do something with this? Make a larger portrait I can hang on the wall?" She opened her old wallet, which she always carried with her, and pulled out a picture, handing it to Ori. He gaped.

"What's this?" he asked and looked up.

"Mum and dad," she replied.

"No! I mean . . ." he help the photograph between them and turned it over. ". . . this."

"Oh. Well, that's how we capture things back home. We have something called cameras." Mari quickly explained the theory behind them. "And we can print those images and keep them," she continued.

Dis leaned forward to get a closer look. "It looks like you cut out a piece of the world and flattened it," she said.

"It's pretty much what it is, yeah," Mari agreed and turned back to Ori. "It's the only memory I have, and even if I keep it safe, it will fade, or I risk losing it."

Ori looked at her. "Of course, Miss Mari. I'll help you," he said with a smile.

She flew up, rounded the table and gave him a hug. "Thank you so much!" she beamed.

Ori looked at her with wide eyes as she trotted back to her seat. "You're welcome," he replied wanly.

"It's just one problem," she said as she sunk down on the chair. "I can't pay you. I don't have anything really."

Dis leaned over and put her hand on Mari's. "Don't worry about such things. You have lost everything child, and we know what it's like to lose things in life." Grief passed over her face and Mari turned her hand and gripped Dis's. Their eyes met and they looked at each other for long moments, eyes brimming with understanding. Mari pulled a ragged breath.

"You will always be welcome here," Dis said with a smile, and Mari nodded.

"Thank you," she replied and their hands pulled apart. In the corner of Mari's eyes, she saw Ori study them solemnly.

The door to the kitchen flung open and the visage of Dwalin filled the doorway. He stalked inside and stopped behind Ori, looking at Mari, crossing his arms, assessing her.

"So yer Miss Mari," he said.

A small smirk formed on Mari's lips. So this was the ferocious Dwalin. Well, he certainly looked the part. "I am," she replied.

He let his arms drop to his sides and bowed. "Dwalin, at yer service," he said and there was a twinkle in his eye, which made her smile.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Dwalin." She gave him a nod with her head.

"I hear ye have interesting tales t' tell," he continued and sat down.

She glanced at Ori and Dis, and begun retelling her story. Again.

* * *

Mari wove her way through the crowd at the market, smiling, greeting people here and there, and stopping to exchange a few words with a couple of the young women with whom she had struck up friendships. She got herself a few groceries and then stopped by a stall selling fabrics, eyeing the range of thicker fabrics. It soon would be winter and she suspected she needed to dress more warmly than Hobbits usually did, partly because she was Human, but also because she wasn't used to this kind of life. She let her hand run over a particularly wonderful fleece in a bright red, dreaming of a fur lined red cloak as she did.

"It would look very pretty on you," a voice next to her elbow said. She turned her head and smiled at the young dark haired man who had planted himself next to her, grinning widely with his dark eyes twinkling.

"It's a wonderful colour. It would look amazing once the snow arrives, don't you think, Kili?" she said.

"I do," he agreed.

She sighed and gave it one last pat. "Pity there's no use dreaming about it," she continued and turned away from it, facing the crowd while she frowned slightly.

"Why's that?" he asked, turning with her.

With a sad smile she looked up at him. "I live on charity, basically. I know Viola and Isembard wouldn't want to call it as such, but it is. I feel like it is. I don't know if I can't make a living here, and I have nothing to fall back on, other than their kind hearts." She sighed.

"Don't get me wrong. I have come to care for them a great deal and they treat me like a daughter, for which I'm incredibly grateful, but . . . it's a far cry from what I'm used to." Eyeing the marketplace before her, she began slowly walking along the line of stalls, with Kili matching her pace.

"What do women do for work, where you come from?" he asked and added, "You spoke about having work back home?"

"Anything really. There are some occupations where it's more common to see women, but you find them building houses and in the army too, even if that's not what most would choose to do for a living." She gave him a fleeting smile. "They are even working in mines and with metals."

"Now, that is not particularly sensational," he said with a grin. "Our women are known to be gifted in that area. Most other areas too, though perhaps not so much taking up the axe and sword, but they will if need be."

"Then you're certainly more flexible than these people are. Aside from becoming a farmer's wife, which I'm not too keen on, and doing some minor textile work, there's not much to choose from." She wove herself through a group of children flocking around a candy stand, smiling as she went. A couple of the children began jumping around, calling for Kili.

"Master Kili! Master Kili!" they shouted, holding up their hands. He grinned and held out his arms and a boy and a girl jumped up and gripped each arm. Backing away a bit he swung them around until they laughed and shrieked as they hung on for dear life. A small group of fauntlings were forming, keeping a safe distance while shouting at Kili. He let the first two down and swung around two others. It wasn't the first time she had noticed that children were given more spontaneous attention and were having adults play with them, and it never failed to make her smile.

Eventually, when all of them had been given a swing around, he made his way back to Mari, waving at them as he went.

"Dwalin used to swing us around like that when we were children," he said as they continued through the crowd. "And then we'd all jump on him and try to take him down," he laughed.

"Did you ever succeed?" she asked.

He looked down at the ground and then peered at her with a grin. "We did. But not until much later."

She nodded. Somehow she had no problem imagining the three of them suddenly making a surprise attack on Dwalin once they had grown tall enough to have a chance at taking him down.

"So what did you do back home? As work, I mean," Kili reminded her.

"Oh, sorry. Lost track a bit there," she replied, looking a bit embarrassed. "I was a waitress. Here that'd be a barmaid, I suppose." She drew a deep breath and continued.

"I have been thinking about applying for a position at the Green Dragon. Partly because I want to see the owner's face when I do it, but it's one of the few things I can do. And I miss _people_."

Kili smiled and nodded. "I think that's a very good idea, Miss Mari."

She returned the smile. "Let's hope the owner is as open-minded as you. I fear it won't be easy convincing the Tooks though. It's complicated." Stopping to take a look at what the fishmonger had to offer, she continued, "If nothing else they'll not like the late evening walks home from Bywater, but it's just a few miles. Doesn't even take an hour to go there if I take the short cut over the peat bog."

Kili threw her a look. "It's not a swamp. Quite firm actually. I have checked," she said with a grin.

He returned the grin with a nod and they walked for a while in silence. A quick glance told her he was mulling over something and was just about to ask what he was thinking about, when he decided to speak up.

"Miss Mari, they can't forbid you to take up an occupation. They're not your guardians and you are a grown woman. They may worry and wish that you didn't do this, but they can't stop you," he said. "And as much as I agree that it's not wise to walk home late in the evening unarmed, I understand your reasons for doing this. I myself prefer to not burden anyone, which is why Fili and I are doing what we do."

Mari smiled warmly at him. "Thank you. I suppose it's just for me to speak with them. Easy peasy." She snorted at herself but sobered quickly.

"I often feel a bit out of place and not quite sure what's appropriate and what I should say to convince people around me about things that are important to me. I understand that this place is different and I'm trying to adapt, but it's not quite instinctive for me. It's not as simple as going back in time, seen from my perspective and where I come from."

"If it's any consolation, misunderstandings occur between us who are born here too. They are probably less now between us personally and any given Hobbit in Tuckborough, but I often feel that there's a chasm between us and Elves, for instance." He rounded a man carrying a basket who had stopped and now was chatting away with some friends.

"I would most likely both embarrass and insult Elves without knowing what I did wrong, and vice versa. So far, from what I've seen, you are doing well for having been here for such a short time. It's not even two months."

"You really do know how to make encouraging speeches." Her mood had brightened considerably by now, and she caught Kili's elbow before she remembered that giving him a hug in the middle of the market place probably wasn't the wisest idea.

Fortunately he simply adjusted slightly, and there they walked as if he was escorting her in a respectable manner as friends would. And he was, she supposed. Her face warmed slightly anyway because of the near faux pas but if he noticed, he didn't acknowledge it.

He simply smiled warmly as they strolled onwards.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I'll have to ask for your patience. This is deliberately kept short because I tend to write too much - it's about 60 000 words long - and based on two children's stories from two different authors; Tolkien and Astrid Lindgren. It's a writer's experiment, and if you don't know any of Astrid's work, I recommend Googling The Brothers Lionheart and Mio, My Son, and you'll get an idea. They are available in English too. Read them to your children. They'll love them, I promise.

I have also chosen to give information about the main character throughout the story, not as a background at the very start. It's a matter of how you tell a story, I suppose, and in this case I decided to let her personality show first, before revealing anything of her past, just as when we meet people in real life.

Thank you for reading!

* * *

Mari stopped and took a deep breath as she let her eyes wander over the building. The Green Dragon, a wooden sign announced. The discussion with the Took family had gone as predicted. They worried, but when she gave her reasons, they relented. Now she found herself in Bywater, feeling far too excited about it.

"Well, there's no time like the present," she murmured to herself and set off with a determined stride. Inside it was fairly dark and quite empty, something she had counted on. Slowly she stepped up to the bar counter and put her hand on the well-worn surface, stroking it with a smile. When no one materialised she leaned over to take a look at the other side.

It was in a bit of a state, as if someone had been putting flagons in place after bringing out the dishes. With a quick glance around the place, she slipped behind the bar and with her usual speed she sorted out the disarray and made the work space ready for customers. When finished, she stepped back, put her hands on her hips and smiled. Oh, how she wished she would be allowed to do this for real.

Someone clearing a throat made her jump and her eyes darted around the room. They landed on Reginard Rumble, the inn's owner, who stood in the doorway to what she suspected was the kitchen area.

"I can tell you've done that before, Miss," he said and crossed his arms over his barrel chest, studying her with a friendly interest.

Mari smiled and looked down at her hands, now clasped in front of her. "I have. Mostly carrying food and drink to dining customers, but I've been behind a bar too."

Mr. Rumble nodded and stepped up at the other side of the bar, leaning his hands on it as he continued to considered her.

"I have heard of you," he mused with a slight tilt of his head. "People say you were found unconscious on the road to Tuckborough, coming from nowhere."

She listened for suspicion and disapproval, but couldn't detect any, which spurred her onwards.

"That would be correct. Well, perhaps not the coming from nowhere part. I did come from somewhere. Just not from around here." She loosened her fidgeting grip and let her arms hang by her sides, squaring her shoulders while she met his eyes. She was here to make a good impression and it wouldn't do to start wringing her hands.

Rumble hummed. "So, what brings you here then lass?" he asked, peering at her.

She took a deep breath. This was it. It was now or never.

"I have heard you have a bit of a problem," she begun. "I heard this place is getting a bit too popular and that you could use an extra set of hands." She touched the surface in front of her and glanced over the mugs and flagons.

"If you know about me, I suppose you also know that I'm poor. I have nothing. And though I have been welcomed by the Took family, I . . . feel . . ." She paused and looked Mr Rumble straight in the eye. "I grew up in a world where you pay your own way. By working. So that's why I'm here. I'm not seamstress material, and I'm not particularly interested in marrying any time soon, but this," she let her eyes wander over the room, "I know how to do."

Mr. Rumble watched her for a moment and then he pushed back from the bar top with a nod.

"You're a brave lass. None of the other girls around would have come up with the idea to ask." He smiled kindly at her.

"And you're right. This is a busy place and I have long wanted help. If you think you can manage, I would be glad to have you."

Mari's eyes widened. "You would?" she said with a slight squeak in her voice.

Mr. Rumble nodded and his smile grew wider.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed and slapped her hand over her mouth. "Sorry, I mean, by the Valar, of course."

Mr Rumble laughed heartily. "Call any god you like lass. I'm not picky."

She grinned at him. "When do you want me to start?" she asked, trying to hold down her excitement but not quite succeeding. She was seriously tempted to jump up and down, but that wouldn't do.

He pursed his lips as he was thinking. "It's your decision, I suppose. I suspect you have people you need to inform about this and such."

"Of course, but we have already come to an agreement on this. I didn't think it was a very good idea to do this without discussing it with Mr. Isembard and Mrs. Viola first. What do I wear?"

"Something sturdy. I have aprons, so no need to worry about that," he replied.

She moved around the bar to stand in front of him. "I think I can start this evening already, if that's all right with you."

He put his hands on his hips. "Certainly. If you come by once afternoon tea is over, it'll be just in time."

Mari nodded vigorously. "Then I'll be here then!" she said. "Thank you!"

She was out the door in a hurry and Mr. Rumble looked after her with a small smile.

* * *

It had been no joke. The Green Dragon was brimming with people, and she had plenty to do, mostly moving around, taking orders and bringing said orders out and dishes back in. People were not so subtly taking about the novelty of her swiftly moving among the tables and through the crowd, but she didn't mind. It was lovely to be among people like this again, and her smile shone brightly on her face, never fading.

As the evening wore on and the crowd started to thin out ever so slightly, she spotted a group at the door she knew didn't usually come to the inn much – the Dwarves. Her hands were occupied with flagons she was carrying in an Octoberfest fashion, but she caught Kili's eyes,flashed him a wide grin, and quickly moved to rid herself of the burden. She almost bounded over to them as they stood awkwardly at the entrance.

Next to Kili stood Fili, smirking at her, and right behind them, Dwalin stood as a dark shadow, eyeing everything around him. Dori hovered slightly behind Kili with Ori at his side, the latter peeking around him with his usual curiosity.

"Hello gentlemen," she greeted them with a bit of sass, because she couldn't help herself. The three younger dwarves returned her smile readily, even if Kili and Ori offered them more freely than Fili did. "Would you like a table? Food or just drinks?" she asked.

"Some ale would do just fine, Miss Mari," Dori replied, bowing his head slightly with a small smile on his face.

"Then I have something for you. The latest brew was brought up just today and it's smashing, if I may say so. I'll find you a table," she said, turned and wove her way over to a fairly large table, a bit off to the side, which had just been emptied. With her hand she signalled to Mr. Rumble behind the bar who nodded and started filling up flagons. She snatched up the empty mugs and flagons as she straightened out the chair riot using her hips, knees and feet.

The men stood watching her for a moment before they followed her.

"She looks happy," Ori said as they hesitatingly made their way to the table. They sat down and she hurried off to pick up the ale, and returned carrying all five in her hands the same way as she had carried the ale when they arrived, thumping them down on the table.

"Thank you, Miss Mari," Fili said politely and reached out to grab one of the flagons.

"You're welcome. I hope it'll be to your liking," she quipped back.

"So, how's your first day?" Kili asked, wrapping his hand around the ceramic as he kept his dark eyes on her.

"Rumours spread quickly, I hear," she snorted.

"Aye, they do!" Ori cut in. "People were talking at the forge about it."

"And it brought you here?" She tilted her head and looked almost a bit embarrassed. "That's awfully nice of you."

Dwalin grumbled something not unkindly, while Dori smiled mildly at her. "It's the best excuse in a long while to come here for some ale," Kili said cheerily.

"And I'm happy to see you here!" she replied and flashed a smile at them, lingering with her eyes on Kili. "I'll be back in a bit!"

As she hurried off to clear tables and bring out some more ale for other patrons, Fili snickered over his beer.

"She's certainly happy to see you, brother," he said and eyed Kili speculatively.

Kili sneered at him. "Not more than anyone else," he groused.

Fili picked up the flagon and sipped on the ale, still with his eyes teasingly on Kili, who pointedly ignored him.

"Oh, this is surprisingly good!" Dori exclaimed, looking down at his flagon, before he had some more.

Ori and Dwalin tried theirs too and nodded in agreement.

"So, lads," Dwalin begun, "Will ye stay in these parts or are ye going back to see yer uncle?"

Fili sobered and turned his head to look at Dwalin. "Believe it or not, but he's apparently coming here. He heard a rumour about Thrain."

Dwalin sneered. "Winter is coming on," he grumbled. "No time fer rambling about tha countryside."

Fili nodded. "Aye. I was hoping you could talk some sense into him. I'd be happy to join him in his search, but not in the middle of winter."

With another grumble Dwalin took another swig at his ale. "There's time yet. A visit to Bree fer some information would still allow 'im t' be back home before tha worst comes."

The others nodded and Kili's and Ori's eyes crept back to Mari, something that didn't go unnoticed.

"She's a pretty lass fer nawt being one of ours, I'll give ye that," Dwalin declared and turned his eyes to Kili and Ori.

"Good-tempered and kind too," Dori added. "Once these Hobbits get used to her, she'll not lack suitors, I think."

"I heard her say she wasn't very interested in getting married," Ori said mildly with his eyes still trained on her.

"She's young yet," Dori pointed out. "Is she even considered all grown up?"

"Though she's twenty-four, she's supposed to be," Ori replied.

Dwalin's laughter boomed over the room. "A wee bairn if ye ask me."

"Apparently her kind consider them as fully grown at eighteen," Kili added and threw Dwalin a glance.

Ori nodded. "Yes, she told me that too."

Dwalin frowned. "How long do they live?"

"Until they're somewhere between eighty and a hundred years old," Ori replied.

Dwalin shook his head. "Short lived creatures," he sighed.

"But she did say she had no idea if that would be true here. Apparently she used to be taller in her world. She woke up here almost a foot shorter," Ori continued.

Kili and Fili both frowned as they considered this.

"People don't just shrink like that," Kili said. Ori shrugged back.

"Magic," Dawlin declared. "Are ye certain that wizard wasn't seen nearby?"

"No one has seen him since summer," Dori said dismissively.

Dwalin picked up his flagon and pointed at them with it. "Magic. I'm certain of it."

They fell silent as Mari headed for their table once more.

"Was it acceptable?" she asked as she stopped between Kili and Fili.

"It was a very fine brew, Miss Mari," Dori smiled benignly.

"I'm glad to hear it. I've heard all this talk about Dwarven brew I worried that I had sold it with false advertising."

"Don't you worry about that, Miss Mari. If there are any folk who can match our own skill, it's the Hobbits," Ori assured her.

"I was meaning to ask, how come Dis didn't join you?" She turned to look at down at Kili and Fili.

"She had other plans for the evening," Fili replied smoothly.

Dwalin burst into his booming laughter again. "Ye could say that. With our lot out of tha house, she'd have some much deserved peace and quiet," he said fondly, and Fili and Kili snorted.

Mari grinned at Dwalin. "Then I'll pop by and visit tomorrow," she said. "I was thinking about bringing her something since she's missing out. Anything in particular she likes? Wine? Ale? Lemonade?"

Kili held up the ale in his hand. "She would appreciate this."

"Then I'll get her some," she said cheerfully and left to take care of more orders and dishes.

"Visiting mother?" Fili asked with a raised eyebrow and turned to look at Kili who looked as surprised as his brother.

"Oh yes," Ori said, "You keep missing it, but she has come by several times to visit Dis."

Fili shot Dwalin a questioning look and he nodded back.

"I think she feels a bit lonely among the Hobbits. They're nice folks, but she's not a Hobbit . . ." Ori looked down at his ale.

They all considered this as they watched Mari who cheerfully chatted with a small group at a table, before she cleared a nearby table.

Dwalin and Dori soon left, but Ori, Fili and Kili stayed until the inn was closing and once she had picked up her cloak and exchanged a few words with Mr. Rumble, she joined them outside in the frosty autumn night.

The walk to Tuckborough was a cheerful one. Mari told her companions stories from her old life as a waitress, which led to Ori asking general questions about all sorts of things. As they arrived at her home, she turned to thank them for joining her as she headed home.

"It was a lovely walk home, but I do hope you don't feel like you need to do this every night. I assure you, I can handle walking alone," she said, sending Kili in particular a pointed look.

"Are you carrying any weapons?" Fili asked matter-of-factly.

"She doesn't even have boots where she could stick a few knives," Ori said admonishingly to Fili.

"No Fili, I'm not carrying any weapons. This is the Shire. It's quite safe," she replied, smirking a bit.

"There is no place in Middle Earth that is completely safe from Orcs and Wargs. There are also Men travelling through the Shire, and not all of them are honourable," Fili said sincerely.

"Fili is right, Miss Mari," Kili added gently.

Mari looked at them in dismay. "But you can't do this every night! You have other things to do!"

"Not particularly," Kili shrugged.

Her shoulder slumped and a sigh escaped her. "Chivalry isn't nearly as fun as it sounds."

Ori studied her looking concerned. "Miss Mari, we care about you," he said quietly.

She smiled sadly at him. "I understand that. I really do. It's just that . . . it makes me feel silly. Not because it's you – I like you – but because I'm used to taking care of myself." She shrugged. "On the other hand, we don't have Orcs."

Kili tilted his head somewhat and peered at her. "Would you oppose to learning to handle a weapon?" he asked.

She looked up at him, a bit startled. "No. Well, in theory anyway. I have no idea how to use the ones common around here."

Kili's eyes gleamed at her and his grin grew. "Then we'll teach you. Between Fili and me, we cover all the hand-held weapons you'd ever need."

"You do, do you?" she asked drily. "I don't know if I would be any good at it, but if you think it's a good idea, I wouldn't mind learning. Thank you."

He lit up. "Excellent! Come by tomorrow, and we'll see where we need to start," he said with audible enthusiasm.

"All right then!" Mari nodded and stepped up to Ori who stood the closest, and gave him a quick hug. Then she moved to Fili, and finally she embraced Kili, bade them good night and stepped inside the house. The three dwarves stood staring at the closed door for a few moments.

"You think that's a custom of theirs?" Kili asked and glanced at the other two. "I mean, well, you know . . ."

"Yes, I think so," Ori replied and looked over at the other two. "She embraced me once before and I'm quite certain it was out of gratitude and nothing else," he continued.

Fili and Kili stared at Ori. "What?" Kili exclaimed, his eyebrows disappearing under his bangs.

Ori dropped his eyes to the ground. "I promised I'd help her with making a replica of a picture of her parents, that she can hang on her wall . . ." his voice trailed off.

Kili and Fili glanced at each other with a smirk and then Fili stepped over to Ori and cuffed his shoulder.

"Well then. Come on. Let's go home," he said and nudged Ori along as they set off in the direction of the forge.

* * *

Mari opened her eyes and immediately realised that the light was different. She frowned and turned her head towards the window and before her mind constructed coherent sentences, she scrambled out of her bed. Her feet got tangled up with the quilt and she slammed into the floor on all fours. Ignoring the pain in her knees she got on her feet again and hurried over to the window. The landscape outside was white and large flakes were falling from a milky grey sky.

A knock on her door made her jump and she half-turned towards it.

"Mari dear, is something wrong?" Viola called from the other side.

Mari broke out in a grin and bounded over to the door and tore it open.

"Not at all. I got clumsy when I was getting out of bed, that's all," she said. "It's snowing!"

Viola smiled back at her. "It certainly is! Early in the season too."

"We don't get snow much back home any more." Mari turned towards the window. "I want to just run outside now!" she exclaimed. With a few strides she was at the window and flung it open and leaned outside. Snowflakes landed on her head and she squinted up at the sky. Behind her Viola laughed heartily.

"Get dressed dear. Breakfast is waiting for you."

"Oh right." She pulled back and closed the window.

"I heard you were going to see the Dwarves today?" Viola asked.

"Yes, that's the plan. I'll take some of that ale to Dis, and the boys are so worried about my safety they have decided I need to learn how to defend myself." Mari picked up her old jeans and looked at them while Viola joined her, peering at the garment too.

"They're not ideal, but they'll have to do. I need to learn how to sew, I think." Mari sighed and put them down. "It'd be great with ones that are in a softer fabric, not that tight and higher in waist. These are just for fashion." She glanced at Viola.

"I bet you think I'm crazy. Wearing men's clothes."

"Nothing about you is ordinary. I sometimes think you perhaps would be a better fit with those Dwarves, but I'd grieve losing you."

Mari reached out and pulled Viola into a hug. "This has become my home and I don't see any reason to move. I only hope my ideas aren't giving you any trouble."

Viola rubbed Mari's back and replied, "It's called eccentrics dear, and it's perfectly acceptable, in particular since you're not from around here. You're polite and kind which matters in the long run."

"Now, get dressed so you can go outside," Viola said, pulling away, leaving the room, and closing the door behind her.

Quickly Mari pulled the nightgown over her head and rummaged around for her bra. With the bodices she normally wore, she didn't need it, but for the activities and clothes for this day, she definitely had to find it. Bra in place, she pulled a shirt over her head, put on socks and pulled on her jeans. To her surprise they were slightly on the loose side.

"How's it even possible?" she murmured out loud, staring at her jeans. She tucked the shirt inside, grabbed a knit sweater, and brushed her hair and teeth. With deft fingers she made a Dutch braid, tied it, and left her room.

Breakfast over, she pulled on her winter boots, tied a scarf around her neck, draped the cloak around her, pulled up the hood, and picked up her mittens. She waved goodbye and stepped outside with her little present for Dis.

She took her time to enjoy the snow, but the forge wasn't far away and she soon found herself in the yard in front of it. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. She stopped and stared at the closed doors to the forge. It didn't look like anyone had been there yet, despite the fact that it was well past when they usually begun their workday. They were early risers, and their absence was a bit alarming.

With a frown she turned towards the barn and continued to the front door, using the elaborate door knocker to announce her presence. The door flew open and Dwalin met her. She nodded and smiled at the large man gazing down at her.

"Good morning," she greeted him. "What a wonderful day it is today!" she exclaimed.

He stepped aside, and as she stepped past him he said, "Good morning lass. Tha snow's a bit early in tha season fer my taste," he replied politely.

She put down the ceramic flagon on a side table, shrugged off her hood and begun tearing at her mittens.

"Has something happened?" she asked, putting down her mittens and unwrapped the scarf. "You're usually in the forge at this time of day."

He secured the door and glanced at her. "Ye could say that," he replied.

"Is it serious?" She was now beginning to worry for real. "I hope no one's sick!"

Dwalin pulled his mouth into a slight smile. "Fortunately no."

She shed her cloak and kicked off her boots, and followed him to the large kitchen. As she stepped inside Ori and Kili brightened considerably and smiled at her, wishing her a good morning. Fili and Dori were more guarded – more than usual – and only nodded. Dis rose from her seat and met her, accepting the gift with a smile, ushering her to a chair.

She now realised there was a new face at the table and she smiled at him and greeted him as well. He only nodded but considered her carefully to a point when Mari started feeling uncomfortable. Kili decided to break the tension.

"Our uncle came last night," he explained and darted a glance at said uncle.

Yes, yes, I can see it's Thorin, she thought, but decided it wouldn't be one of her better ideas to say something like that out loud. Besides, she really didn't want to come across as sarcastic towards Kili. Though he sometimes was Captain Obvious, she didn't really mind and she didn't want to come across as mean.

"Thorin Oakenshield, at your service." He bowed his head slightly.

"Mari Smith. At yours," she quickly added and imitated his bow.

He was intimidating. There was no other word for it and she darted a glance at Dis, who was up to some wordless communication of the more austere kind with her brother.

"So this is the mysterious woman everyone is talking about," Thorin said. Mari knitted her brow and turned back to him, instinctively disliking being talked about in her presence. To her surprise his features had softened and he was regarding her with kindness. Well. Maybe it was just the way he said things. She smiled weakly.

"This is the Shire, sir. People talk if Ponto Proudfoot's hog breaks out of his pen."

Thorin chuckled and Mari started to breathe a bit easier.

"I'd say it's a bit more than that," Dis said. "It's a rare thing for someone to appear seemingly out of nowhere, who's like no one anyone has ever seen."

Thorin was scrutinising her again, his eyes lingering on her small ears, and her comparatively thin frame.

"Each and every race has its specialities, so what is yours?" he asked in a straightforward manner that made her smirk. It wasn't that easy answering though and she ended up looking down at table. "We don't have a particular inclination. Not like you or Hobbits have. I suppose my kind is good at quarrelling though." She looked up with a faint smile. Thorin cocked an eyebrow.

"We're individually good at something, for the most part anyway, but as a species? No, nothing in particular."

"And yours is?"

"I don't know yet. I'm still quite young, and I have no specific education." The cross examination made her feel a bit cornered. She hadn't actually done much in her life. Aside from a few holidays in in remote parts of the world, she hadn't travelled much. Moving to another country was perhaps a bit out of the ordinary, but it wasn't as if she had done anything different in her new life. She hadn't studied anything in particular. When she scrutinized her life she had to admit that there wasn't much to say about it at all, and it stung.

Thorin let his eyes wander over the younger men, who were seated together opposite Mari.

"You are not alone in this, and I fear an entire generation will be lost," he said, more to himself than to her. She smiled and ducked her head and gnawed on her lower lip to try and hide it.

"You have somethin' to add, Miss Mari?" Dwalin rumbled and she could her she was teasing her. She made an effort to reign in her smile and lifted her eyes to look at him.

"I know your past, but I think it's a touch harsh to speak about lost generations." She turned to look at Ori, Fili and Kili. "They have a different life than they would have had, but that doesn't mean it needs to be all that bad." Her smile grew as Kili flashed one of those brilliant grins at her. She tore her eyes away from the boys and let them settle on Thorin, her smile being replaced by sincerity. Her inner debate raged a few seconds before she continued speaking.

"Don't throw away that which is good and here right now for glory you will never live to see," she suddenly said. When the words left her mouth she wished she could take them back immediately and she ducked her head again.

Silence reigned heavily over the table and Mari closed her eyes and breathed deeply. It had definitely sounded better in her head, and not nearly as harsh.

"I apologise," she managed quietly. "I mean no offence."

Thorin hummed but didn't offer anything else for a while. Chairs scraped around her and as she surreptitiously glanced around, she saw everyone but Thorin stand and file out of the kitchen. Her heart sank. The door closed and the silence was almost deafening.

"Dis tells me you have the power of foresight," Thorin said with a carefully neutral voice.

"I wouldn't say that." She kept her eyes on the table in front of her.

"But you know of things that have yet to happen." It was a statement, not a question.

She finally raised her eyes and looked straight into his. "In my world, yours is a fantasy story. As I have brushed up on the history of Middle Earth I have come to the conclusion that what I know is correct to a certain extent. Sometimes it's exactly as I know it, sometimes it's not. Details differ. Things that should have taken place in some cases haven't. Maybe they'll happen later, maybe they'll never happen."

Thorin nodded, but kept his steady gaze on her. "You clearly know about me."

Mari shrank back slightly. "I really didn't mean to say anything. I try to stay away from meddling and talking about what I . . . know. It's a good idea to remember that we can mess up spectacularly, and I really try to keep that in mind. Good intentions are . . . dangerous. Sticking to some kind of Prime Directive around here would be a good idea; where I keep my mouth shut and don't try to influence people." She sighed. "And now I'm babbling. Do I make any sense here?"

"You are a peculiar being," Thorin mused.

She snorted. "Everyone is side-eyeing me because I'm not like anyone else. I don't even curse properly."

"Dis has taken you to her heart and speaks fondly of you. The lads are approving by the looks of things."

"Dis has been kind and to be honest, it's a bit of a relief to sometimes get away from all this proper nonsense the Hobbits are obsessing about. You can't do this and you shouldn't do that. It clashes with what I grew up with, to put it mildly."

He leaned back against the backrest and cocked his head slightly to the side. "Though you have been in my presence less than ten minutes, yes, I can tell you are of a different kind."

"Good or bad?" she asked.

"That remains to be seen."

Mari nodded. "I'd say that's a pretty wise attitude." She smiled momentarily and then she grew sombre again, regarding Thorin. He met her eyes and their gazes were locked until Mari dipped hers, pressing her lips tightly together in an attempt to stop herself from revealing more. She shouldn't say anything. At least not until it was absolutely unavoidable. Thorin didn't seem to wish to push it at present though, for which she was thankful.

"They are waiting for you," he said quietly.

Mari looked back at him with obvious confusion.

"Kili and Fili have informed me that you are to be taught how to defend yourself," he clarified.

Her eyes went wide. "Oh right! Yes!" She grinned. "The Shire is apparently deemed an unsafe place, and my skills are lacking."

"Unfortunately they are not wrong. Evil tends to come seemingly out of nowhere and in the safest of places." His eyes seemed to gaze right through her, seeing something else.

Mari's smile vanished and she nodded. "I suppose you know a lot about that."

"That I do," he sighed. Mari rose and gave him a slight nod.

"Sir," she said quietly, to which Thorin nodded, and she slowly headed for the closed door. On the other side stood Dis, Dwalin and Dori. She snorted quietly as Dori and Dwalin tried to pretend they had been casually lounging around, and not at all eavesdropping. Dis smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it for a moment before she slipped inside the kitchen again. Dwalin and Dori were hot on her heels, leaving her standing alone. With a sigh she continued onwards to the front door in hopes of finding the three younger men.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** This chapter turned out to not be that easy to write, and it has been emailed back and forth between me an my beta several times, which partially explains why you had to wait this long for an update. It's both plot and character interaction heavy, and so far the longest chapter of them all.

* * *

Gone were the carefree days when Mari acted like herself when spontaneously visiting the forge. In fact, she wasn't spontaneously visiting much at all. As if Fili and Kili felt her unease they often took the exercises elsewhere, though she would take a moment to see Dis before they set out. Otherwise she stayed away.

Thorin's presence chafed like a cheap new shoe. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't help showing some of her uneasiness. No one commented on it, but she had a feeling everyone was aware of it, much like the infamous elephant in the room.

Work was a refuge, and she enjoyed her walks home, with Ori, Fili and Kili taking turns accompanying her. But pretty soon she started to feel the discomfort with them as well. They simply couldn't discuss things without Thorin coming up and she saw the way they looked at her when she tensed up.

Thorin's arrival again brought up the question of how she had ended up in Middle Earth and if she possibly could find a way out back home. She briefly considered seeking the opinions of any of the wizards, but decided they probably couldn't help her, despite their magic. As she racked her brain she couldn't recall any of the wizards being able to actually travel distances in ways other than ordinary people, and most definitely not between worlds.

Thoughts of home wouldn't leave her be though, and she continued to ponder the problem. A few times the idea crossed her mind that this wasn't simply a parallel world but something entirely different, but every time she pushed it from her consciousness with determination. She didn't believe in an afterlife. It was simply children's stories or religious beliefs, and she was neither a child nor religious.

In the corner of her eye she noticed the younger Dwarf generation watching her with concern. Prim and Marge did their best to cheer her up by always including her in their social life, which despite the somewhat limited Hobbit society, wasn't so bad. Her fear of having to bring along a basket full of knitting she'd never finish subsided when she realised the younger Hobbits, those about to come of age or recently had done so, were much more interested in reading, talking and playing games.

After a few weeks of exercises with Fili and Kili she found herself showing some of her lessons off to an awed crowd, consisting of cousins of Prim and Marge, as well as a select few of their childhood friends. Thorin may have put a damper on things, but she still had moments when she enjoyed her life and she found herself thinking that perhaps she could live with never finding a way back home.

However, every time Thorin laid his eyes on her, watching her without offering a word, she felt the pressure. She should perhaps have been angry with this silent treatment, which she was certain had to do with what she knew about this world. But she wasn't. It only made her uncomfortable looking at him and remembering that in a few years' time, he would be dead, and with him Fili and Kili.

Numerous times she was about to speak up, but stopped herself, worried that she would put the entire world at risk by telling him what he wanted to know. On the other hand, she did know things people around her didn't, and it caused her entertain the idea that she should stop some of the blatantly idiotic decisions. When her thoughts strayed in that direction she tried to nip it in the bud, but it kept whispering at her.

It made her sigh and turn her eyes away from Thorin and morosely stare at the floor or fire until she couldn't stand his gaze any more. When she walked home, the adventure stories she had read once she had learned to read surfaced in her memory; stories about boys and girls much younger than she was now, who conquered their fears and changed the lives of the people around them. In particular those who had died and found themselves in foreign fantasy lands, far, far away from where they grew up.

No. She had not died. She couldn't have. She couldn't accept it. But her treacherous mind would whisper about the pains and aches she'd had when she woke up. How did those happen? Had she tripped on her own shoelaces? She could break her neck that way, hitting something she had missed as she turned around apologising. Her hand went to her neck and she shook her head. No, it was a one in a million risk. Surely not that had been her fate? Besides, if she were dead, how could she be here?

She started to make excuses to get away from even the exercise. Thorin's eyes followed her everywhere, even through his nephews, and they made her think more and more about why she was in Middle Earth. For a week she only saw any of the Durins when either Ori, Fili, or Kili stepped through the door to the Green Dragon, ready to walk her home. She forced a smile on her face and tried to be her usual self – easier with Ori, harder with Fili or Kili.

One evening as she was heading home with Kili, he true to his character, spoke up.

"Miss Mari, may I ask something?" he begun, slightly hesitantly. She tamped down a sigh and stopped on the path, turning towards him.

"Yes, ask away." Something feeling like an ice block slowly formed in her belly as she met his serious eyes, regarding her solemnly for a moment.

"I can tell uncle is making you uncomfortable, but I don't understand why." He paused and made an aimless movement with his hand. "It's affecting all of us. I know I'm speaking for both my brother and Ori when I say it saddens us to see you shy away."

Mari hung her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that," she murmured and momentarily closed her eyes.

"Then, will you tell me what is wrong?" Kili pressed on, showing his concern openly.

She breathed a bit just to study the vapour coming out of her mouth, illuminated by the light he carried, before she spoke.

"I have known about this world more than half my life. Well, I didn't know you actually existed, but I knew about the story." She looked up and Kili nodded. This was old news but he didn't show any impatience, only watched her intently.

"Dis has told your uncle I have the gift of foresight, which strictly isn't true. But I read the books, all of them, and though there are some differences, and I may have forgotten a detail or three, I . . . I know what's going to happen. Your uncle . . . feels the loss of Erebor very strongly. Probably more than you understand. It's with him every waking hour." Slowly she pulled the cloak around her more snugly, as if it was armour she hoped would shield her.

"He wants to know what I know." She watched the vapour again, waiting for a response from Kili. He pondered her words for a moment.

"Why can't you tell him?" he asked.

Mari bristled slightly and she looked away in attempt to hide it. His eyes narrowed. "It's bad, isn't it? That thing you said the morning after he arrived . . ." his voice tapered off.

"This doesn't just concern him, Kili, but a great many other people. The long story short, Smaug must be ousted, but it will cost dearly." She turned her head back to Kili, and her eyes bore into his. "Very dearly."

She knew she betrayed more than she should allow him to see, but had she been better at this, she would have been a professional poker player, not a young woman lost in a fantasy story. All of it was pressing on her, Thorin's burning wish to know the future, her struggle with her knowledge and what to do about it, and why she was in Middle Earth in the first place.

Her eyes wandered from Kili and strayed upwards at the stars and tears rose in her eyes. An intense longing hit and words from one of her childhood books crossed her mind. _In Nangijala, it's still the age of camp-fires and fairy tales, and it's where you go when you die._ Closing her eyes, the tears slipped down her cheeks.

I'm dead. No, I really am. That must be it, flashed through her mind.

She didn't somehow find a spot where their universes touched. She found herself here because she died. The one in a million chance death really had happened to her. This was her magical fantasy land because she had hoped it existed as she read the books, and now she could admit that she had believed it to be a real place.

"Oh my God," she breathed as an indescribable ache bloomed in her chest. Her legs gave out underneath her and she started sinking to the ground, but Kili's strong hands gripped her and held her upright. She tried to convince her legs to cooperate, with little success.

"Are you well?" Kili asked with his eyes wide with worry.

She gave him a half-sob, half-laugh, as reply. Without hesitation he scooped her up and strode down the path with her in his arms. She wanted to tell him she was okay, that she could certainly walk, but she couldn't make herself say it. Instead she buried her head in his coat and cried.

Dazed, she registered Viola's concern when she opened the door, letting Kili inside. He settled her down on her bed, caressed her hair gently as he looked down at her with an encouraging smile that didn't mask his concern very well. It warmed her to see it despite the misery she felt and she reached out and squeezed his hand and managed a faint smile through the tears, feeling horribly embarrassed about her state.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't you worry about it," he replied and pressed her hand back. Viola came into view.

"Dear, I'm just going to exchange a few words with Master Kili and then I will be right back," she said. Mari nodded. Kili and Viola disappeared and Prim and Marge sat down next to her, and Prim took her hand, pressing it tightly with eyes wide with worry.

Kili headed towards the front door with heavy steps, and Viola trailed in his wake. He came to a stop in the airy hallway and half-turned towards Viola.

"I worry about her," he admitted. "There's nothing physically wrong with her, as far as I can tell, but . . ." he went quiet.

Viola nodded and wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders. "Your uncle's arrival has not been good for her peace of mind." She hesitated momentarily, then continued. "I must say I don't approve." She was openly annoyed as she continued. "There's nothing wrong with the rest of you lot, but your uncle . . ." She shook her head angrily.

"Just because the girl may know a thing or two about what's to come, that's no reason to act poorly. Oh, I know he hasn't said anything, but he's intelligent enough to let someone know what his wishes are without using words."

Kili hung his head and clenched his hands into fists and Viola sighed.

"He has his reasons, that's all I can say," Kili quietly said.

"Surely you don't approve?" Viola asked and her eyes narrowed.

He looked up and his eyes widened. "No. No, I don't approve, but that doesn't matter much, does it?" He sighed. "I'll talk to mother."

Hesitantly he turned to look down the corridor leading inside the smial. "Take good care of her," he said.

"She's in the best of hands," Viola retorted and smiled reassuringly.

"Miss Mari deserves nothing less." With that he turned and disappeared out through the front door.

Viola hurried back to Mari's bedside.

* * *

Dis knocked on the door leading to her brother's chamber and at his muffled reply she opened it and stepped inside.

"So it's here you're lurking," she said cheerfully.

Thorin sat in a large armchair in front of the fire, rigidly watching the fire. He clearly was brooding, but Dis took no notice. She moved another chair around for her to sit on, in such a way that she could look at him comfortably without turning her head. His eyes followed her movements but he betrayed nothing of what was on his mind.

"Brother, you must cease with this pressure you're putting on Miss Mari. No one in this world understands you better than I, but I cannot allow this to continue," she said, speaking with a clear voice, yet quietly.

"I have not uttered a single word after our first meeting," Thorin grumbled.

"Don't pretend to be innocent. I know your ways. The girl broke down this evening on her way home and Kili had to carry her the rest of the way." She sighed. "It probably means she knows exactly what you wish to know, but this cannot continue. She has her reasons for not speaking up, and we must respect those."

Thorin winced and stared down at his hands. "I know her reasons. She told me."

"Then let it go brother. She's as displaced as we are, but utterly alone in this world. Imagine how exposed she must feel, only because she knows of things that have yet to happen."

He gave her a long look, which she calmly met. "Go to Bree. See what you can find out about father, and go back home. Leave this child alone," Dis continued.

A twinkle in his eyes and a slight roundness of his cheeks gave away his amusement. "Sister, be careful to not let her youth fool you. She's no child, as your sons and Ori are well aware of."

Dis huffed and looked slightly uncomfortable. "They wouldn't dare."

Thorin chuckled. "Oh I think they would. Remember, Fili will turn 80 in spring. Just how old were you when you married, love?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "At least Fili should know better," she finally said.

He nodded slowly and sighed. "If for nothing else, I must find a way to gain our home back for him. The way we are scattered it's near impossible to find someone fitting for him." The implications of his words hung between them.

"You should take him back with you to Ered Luin," she said.

"And with him goes Kili. Ori most likely too. And with Ori, goes Dori. You could just as well pack your bags and go with me, all of you."

"Maybe that's for the best," she mused.

Thorin leaned forward, resting one elbow on his knee and reached out to catch her hand. "You do as you see fit, but remember the reason you came here in the first place." He paused for a few moments, looking at their joined hands. "I'll see what I can do in this matter. If I'm successful she could come for a visit. Our family has the weight of being who we are after all and that should tempt someone."

Dis eyes softened and she reached out and caressed his cheek. "I only wish fate hadn't been so hard on you, brother."

"It was worse for Frerin," he replied solemnly.

She nodded. "Still, it wouldn't hurt to think of yourself. It wouldn't mean you would abandon your people nor your goal. We are few, you know this, and that should be your concern as much as winning back our home."

He flinched slightly.

"I'm old, Dis."

"You are king, Thorin." Her demeanour was almost severe as she spoke.

"We've had this discussion many times. Must we have it yet again?" he pleaded.

"Yes, we do, and we'll have it until you are in your grave," she said firmly. "Because you have waited this long, Fili would still be your heir, but with a child of your own, it would lessen the pressure on him and make certain the line of Durin continues. You know what would happen if you both were to die childless. I would not wish to see our cousins from Iron Hills take what's rightfully ours, benefiting even more from our fate."

"May I point out that you have two sons? Kili could father a child too." His eyes twinkled with amusement.

Dis sighed. "With you, our king, and his brother, the heir, unmarried, I doubt he'll manage that, charming as he may be."

"You worry too much." Thorin pressed her hand.

"With you as a brother, how could I not?" she retorted with a smile. She pulled her hand from his, stood and put it on his shoulder.

"Stop frightening Miss Mari, find yourself a lady to marry, and I promise I will stop pestering you." She pressed his shoulder and headed for the door.

* * *

Mari was sitting listlessly in the kitchen with her breakfast. For once she missed coffee as she gazed down at the cup of tea in front of her. She raised her eyes and stared out through the decorated window at the winter outside. Yule was coming up but she didn't feel festive in the least, especially not after what had happened the night before.

Once Kili was gone she had allowed the dam to break, and had poured her heart out to the family she lived with. Isembard's questions had kept her from going into hysterics and howling, for which she had been grateful. Her grief had become a dull ache inside and the stabbing sensation almost making her panic had subsided, leaving a slow trickle of tears streaking her cheeks.

Prim stayed with her after the others went to bed and they snuggled up close to each other, as she cried until she couldn't cry any more. Sometime before dawn they finally fell asleep. She had awakened when Viola had roused Prim to ask how the night had been, and after that she couldn't go back to sleep. Prim had dragged herself out of bed to join the breakfasting family while Mari stayed in her room, looking through the window at the white landscape outside. Slowly she picked up the pieces of herself, put them back together, and stuffed the hurt in an imaginary box, putting it away for now. She had a life to live here and she had to get on with it. With a deep breath she braced herself for the rest of her life.

The morning was slow. It was like she acquainted herself with this world all over again, and she found herself constantly pausing to gaze at ordinary things, with her mind replaying the past months. Eventually she had sat down, determined to eat breakfast. As she poured herself a cup of tea she remembered the one who had been faced with her breakdown – Kili.

If crippling grief had ruled the evening, the morning came with the reminder of her embarrassing behaviour towards him. She wasn't prudish, not at all, and he was nice enough, but being carried because she had been reduced to a blubbering mess, that was mortifying. It would not happen again, she promised herself.

She also suspected he was a bit more gallant than strictly necessary towards her, and it made her sigh. He was going to die, she reminded herself – at least according to what she knew about the events to come. Her traitorous mind whispered back that she had the power to change that, making her growl at herself. What if her words and actions made everything worse? _But you're stuck here_, her mind whispered, _and with the knowledge you have, you can strike against evil from a direction it isn't expecting_.

For long moments she simply breathed with closed eyes, trying to push the thought away from herself, with little success. There's no fate, she insisted, as she debated with herself. Fate can't be changed, only met, after all. Determination made her open her eyes and she squared her shoulders. Yes. She would try to change this world.

She had to be smart, and work quietly, staying under the radar. With a wince she realised she would have to become serious about weapons training. It wasn't horrible, but she wasn't very good at it. The Dwarf weapons were too large and heavy for her, but if she worked on her strength a bit perhaps . . . .

With a sigh she picked up the tea and carefully sipped the hot beverage. A determined knock on the front door made her jump and spill tea over the plate in front of her. Scowling, she put down the cup and rose from the table, making her way to the door, dreading what the open door would reveal. Kili, most likely. Possibly Ori. And if it was Dis . . . she would cry again. Slowly her hand reached for the handle on the door and then stopped in mid-air.

"Get on with it," she murmured to herself and her hand wrapped around the handle.

"Good morning, Miss Mari," Kili exclaimed cheerfully, as she opened the door, finding not just him on the doorstep, but also his uncle, Thorin. Silently she thanked unnamed powers who had compelled her to dress before breakfast. Her smile was on the nervous side and she tried to keep her attention on Kili, but her eyes darted to Thorin for a moment anyway.

"Good morning," she echoed and stepped aside to allow them indoors. The cold outside was washing over her, and she could tell temperatures were dropping. It was like a freezer outside.

"Please. It's really cold outside," she managed, and the two men stepped inside, allowing her to close the door behind them.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" she asked. "I was just having mine and there's enough for you as well." She couldn't help snorting at herself. "I'm turning into a Hobbit, I think."

Kili toed off his boots and removed his coat. "I could think of nothing better than something to eat," he replied, his smile never faltering. She realised he was trying to cover for his uncle who was hovering around a bit like the Groke nearby.

She led them to the kitchen and urged them to sit down as she picked out plates, cutlery and cups for tea and placed them before the guests. Sinking down on her chair, she reached for her napkin to clean up the tea related mess on her plate, before gripping the teacup firmly to steady her hands.

Kili dug in with his usual vigour while Thorin slowly and deliberately poured himself some tea, not sparing her a glance while doing it.

"How are you doing this morning?" Kili asked kindly, studying her.

"I'm fine, thank you." She sighed. "I apologise for yesterday. I didn't mean to dump my shit on you."

For a moment he looked like she was speaking Greek and she snorted quietly at herself again. "I'll rephrase that. I should not burden you with my issues. There. It might not seem like it sometimes, but I did actually learn to speak properly at one point."

In the corner of her eyes she noticed Thorin's unwavering gaze on her, but she managed to ignore him.

"No, no, I understand perfectly well. Your wording is colourful sometimes, but I do understand." Kili flashed a bright grin at her.

She snorted more loudly and some of the tea escaped the cup and dropped on the plate. She caught the last drops with her finger, and she surreptitiously licked her finger as she turned her attention from her cup to Kili. "Colourful, eh?" They grinned at each other, and Mari admitted to herself she was actually happy to have him there. Kili could brighten any mood, and the misery and embarrassment eased somewhat, and her determination to change this family's lives hardened.

Thorin clearing his throat brought their attention to him. Mari pressed her lips tightly together and turned her eyes to the tea cup in front of her. It wouldn't surprise her if he thought she was making eyes at his nephew and she could easily imagine exactly how he felt about that idea.

"Miss Mari, I have come here to apologise," he said calmly.

She held her breath and turned to look at him with wide eyes. For a moment she wondered if he ever turned off that intimidation thing he had going. Apologising he may be, but it didn't exactly put her at ease.

"I heard about what happened last night, and it grieved me to hear my behaviour has affected you in such a way. Believe me when I say I never intended for you to feel this uncomfortable," he continued and dropped the façade and sat there looking tired and mournful. It was the real deal, she realised. Slowly she released her breath.

"Thank you," she replied lamely and then looked down at the cup in her hands again.

"That wasn't what made me break down yesterday though," she added softly. "Well, it didn't make me feel any better about it, but . . ." Pausing for a moment, she gathered her thoughts. The black hole inside of her threatened to consume her again, but she resolutely pushed it down. Not now.

"I believed that I had somehow found a way between our worlds, that this was a parallel world of some kind. In theory that would mean there's a way back." Her eyes found their way to Thorin's.

"I have struggled with this since I came here, trying to figure out how to make it back home, just like . . ." Dorothy, she added silently as she realised she'd have to explain the Wizard of Oz and decided that would have to come at a later date. Too bad I don't have her shoes, but then again, Dorothy hadn't been dead, she mused.

"I can't say exactly when I started suspecting something completely different, but yesterday I finally accepted the truth, that there's no way home for me . . ." She heaved a deep breath in an attempt to get rid of the thickness in her throat, before she continued, "I died, which means I've lost everyone back home, and that there's probably a reason for me being here at this time." She shifted her gaze to Kili, and then back again to Thorin. "It's slightly overwhelming."

Carefully she put down the cup and clasped her hands in her lap, looking down at them. "I'm terrified of doing the wrong thing, because it's so important and so many lives are at stake." Her eyes darted over them both. "Just let me . . . stew on it for a while, all right? There's still time, I think. A couple of years or so."

Silence reigned for a while, but for once she didn't feel uncomfortable. Both Thorin and Kili seemed taken aback by what she had told them. Thorin had his eyes nailed to the table before him, while Kili watched her with a mix of concern and empathy.

After nearly a minute Thorin raised his eyes and revealed the indecision he was battling. Mari took pity on him.

"Go on. Ask," she said softly.

He sighed and he glanced away for a moment. "I don't think you're treating me poorly. Never did. I understand why you want to know, and while I can't tell you about some things, or even go into great detail, I think it's time for you to ask. Get some of it out of the way," she continued.

He nodded. "Thank you." His eyes caught hers again. "There is one thing I would like to know above anything else. Will the line of Durin prevail?"

Mari winced and her mind raced as she tried to find a decent answer for him. "Depends on what that entails, sir. There are quite many descending from that first Durin, aren't there?"

Thorin growled. "I think you just gave me my answer."

Mari managed to refrain from rolling her eyes – barely. "You know, I don't believe in fate. I don't believe that something must happen in a particular way. In any given moment we have a choice, and though we're often inclined to make a particular choice, it's not like it's the only thing we can do or choose." She paused and they stared at each other.

With a shrug she continued, "But if you want to make sure the future is what you want it to be, I'd recommend the lot of you to have kids. All of you. Just saying."

To her surprise Thorin let out a hearty laughter and when he reined it in, he nodded and said, "I have heard that tirade most of my life." He threw Kili a glance. "Your mother hounded me last night again."

Kili snorted loudly and reached out and slapped his uncle on his back. "I'm looking forward to meeting my cousins, uncle," he said enthusiastically.

Thorin eyed Kili. "Don't you for a moment think her concerns are limited to me, nephew." There was a smugness in his voice that didn't go unnoticed, and Kili's grin faded into a look of horror.

Mari snickered. "Oh come on Kili. It can't be that bad, can it?" she asked. He turned to look at her and suddenly his face flushed and his breakfast caught his undivided attention, causing both Thorin and Mari to laugh.

Her heart was much lighter when she closed the door behind them, after promising to show up later to pick up the exercises again. Leaning her back against the door, she sighed and the smile on her lips faded. She still needed to figure out what to do, but she'd think of something. At least she had time.

* * *

The week before Yule saw Thorin leave for Bree and it left Mari with more to do than ever before. As expected, food was at the centre of attention for the inhabitants of the Shire, as were the never-ending social gatherings. The tide had shifted, and Mari was no longer seen as a disturbing novelty. She nearly had worn out her shoes dancing, and after an initial mistletoe oversight on her part, she now spied those twigs first thing she entered a home or elsewhere where they could be found. Somehow one of these offensive sprigs had even found its way to the Assembly Rooms.

Despite the cold, or perhaps because of it, The Green Dragon was brimming every evening, and instead of the customary ale, the patrons were having mulled wine by the boiling pan. Her feet ached, but it was on the whole a happy time.

The first day of Yule began with heavy snowfall. As the Took family and Mari gathered in the kitchen for breakfast Viola commented that "it was downright unnatural, this winter", something which had Mari thoughtfully studying the white landscape outside. She had noticed when she studied the history of the Shire (in books she had borrowed from the Thain himself) that there had been no Fell Winter. No battle of Greenfield had been fought. The winter had come early this year according to everyone, and it was both rich in snow and unusually cold. So far it could just be a natural weather variation, but what if . . . A cold shiver ran up Mari's spine.

Breakfast over, Viola, Mari, Prim, and Marge braved the snowfall to help with the preparations in the Assembly Rooms. They were both wet and cold when they arrived, despite the short distance. They were greeted by Fili and Kili, who were cheerfully clearing the snow outside. Stepping inside they spotted Ori seated by a table, making wreaths for decoration alongside other young Hobbits in the neighbourhood that Mari now knew fairly well. They were greeted with smiles and cheerful well-wishes.

In the kitchen Dis reigned with impeccable calm, and she quickly found them tasks. The brothers soon came inside and were assigned to decoration, as Fili, on top on Kili's shoulders with not-so-helpful advice from Ori, tried to put the wreaths in place. It turned out to be quite entertaining, and they all laughed heartily.

Even though the foul weather continued throughout the day, people were flocking to the Assembly Rooms, and Mari again found herself dancing every dance. There even was an attempt at cornering her under the mistletoe, which she escaped with a smile. Eventually Fili materialised as one dance ended, offered her his elbow and escorted her towards the buffet table.

"Your smile was beginning to become slightly strained," he commented with a smirk as she gripped a glass with lemonade, downing it in one swig.

"I have no idea what's wrong with everyone. I went from official disturber of the peace to the it-girl-of-the-month overnight. Not sure I can live up to the hype, to be honest," she said and filled up the glass again, struggling to not pant.

Fili raised an eyebrow. "No, I can't think of any reason at all why this attention is given to you," he deadpanned.

Her eyes narrowed as she studied him over the rim of the glass. "Stop it you," she huffed.

Shrugging he let his eyes pan over the crowd. "You must have looked in a mirror lately?" he asked.

"Every day. Nothing new there." She picked up a plate and begun filling it from the buffet.

"But it's new to everyone else, and you are pretty to look at."

She stopped and turned her face to look at Fili. "I'm not dumb. I just don't quite see it myself." She looked down at the buffet again. "And you're making me uncomfortable now, Fili," she added.

"That was not my intention," he said sincerely. "I have no such interests."

"By choice or obligation?" she couldn't resist asking.

"Both," he replied, and smiled.

She nodded and sighed. "What a relief," she finally said and picked up a fork and filled up her glass a third time. Fili once more offered his elbow and led her to a quiet corner where they sat down.

"Where are the others?" she asked as she begun eating.

"Mother is currently dancing, as is in fact Ori as well," he replied.

Craning her neck she tried to catch them. Ori came into view first and the sight made her smile. She spotted Dis right behind and her eyebrows arched when she realised Dis was dancing with Dwalin.

"I never pictured Dwalin as one to dance," she mused as she forked a gherkin and crunched away on it.

"He's not as gruff as he looks. Well, on a battle field he is, but here? He has a heart of gold," Fili replied, ever so slightly defensive.

"I don't think he's a brute." She looked over at Fili. "He looks austere, but he's been nothing but polite to me. He sometimes jokes too." Her eyes went back to Dis and Dwalin. "And it's not like your uncle gives the impression of being very cuddly, when he's in a mood."

Fili sighed. "He can be quite . . . harsh. He could have been the father figure we lost, but he couldn't allow himself to be one. He was always king first."

"How does it feel to know that you're his heir?" she asked, dropping the plate in her lap as she sincerely studied Fili, waiting for a reply.

His eyebrows shot up. "I'm not certain I can answer that question. I have always known and I can't picture a life without that being part of it."

"I can't imagine what that would be like." Looking pensive she took a bite on the cheese.

"I still have to make a living," he pointed out with a smirk.

She grinned at him. "Yeah, you're not the average spoiled brat. Not to mention the fact that you've got too much hair to be a brat."

Fili looked perplex. "What kind of a creature is a brat?"

Mari laughed. "Oh, sorry. It's not a particular creature. It's just someone young and spoiled, but they tend to have a particular style, and it's nothing like yours."

A chair was scraping on her other side and she turned her head, not without a certain amount of trepidation. When Kili dropped down on the chair he had placed next to her, she broke out in a grin and released the breath she had briefly been holding. Kili had armed himself with ale, not just for himself, but for the other two as well.

"Well timed, Kee," Fili said and leaned back against the backrest looking very content.

"Isn't ale always well timed?" Kili asked smugly.

Fili chuckled. "You may have a point there."

"So. What were you two gossiping about then?" Kili asked casually.

Mari smirked at him. "Nothing in particular, to be honest. I'm having a well-deserved rest from the commotion out there."

"I noticed you were busy," Kili remarked.

She nodded. "Well, as long as I'm flanked by you two, I think I'll be left alone."

"That bad?" Kili dropped the amusement like a rock.

"I'm just not used to being the centre of attention, that's all." She smiled. "It'll wear off, I'm sure."

He gave her a long look and shifted his eyes to Fili who smirked at him, making him scowl.

The discussion turned to party practices in her old world and the eyebrows on both brothers were soon climbing towards the hairline. As she was describing various dance music, Ori came trotting over to them, chair in hand, sitting down next to Kili, angled a bit so he could join the conversation, while Kili pushed back as much as he could without hitting the wall.

They became a quite animated group, laughing and discussing loudly, with Mari being the story-teller, gesturing wildly from time to time to emphasise particular things. It didn't go unnoticed.

"They're quite taken with her," Dwalin commented, as he and Dis stood off to the side, discreetly watching the group in the corner.

"Have you and Thorin been talking?" Dis asked and arched an eyebrow.

He shot her a glance. "All the time he's 'ere."

Dis sighed. "That was not what I meant."

"Ye mean about tha girl?" he asked. "No, he didn't express any concern, if that's what ye mean." He crossed his arms over his chest. "But I can practically smell problems," he added. "Ye know why we keep ta ourselves, an' yer lads in particular need ta watch 'emselves."

"I can't tell them to stop talking to her. If things were right they'd have their own halls by now. They're grown and I can't interfere in their lives. It's not our way to do so." She watched Ori explain something to Mari, with Kili enthusiastically adding details. Fili was leaning back with a smirk on his lips as he listened.

Dis was hit by a sense of deja vu, and in her mind's eye she saw herself, Thorin, Frerin and Dwalin, in another place and another time, before all that death, and her brother had shouldered the family burden. Unlike Thorin, she had long believed her father had died. She pressed her eyes shut for a moment. Next to her Dwalin sighed.

"At least she's not an Elf," he said and Dis snorted. "Ye can grin, but let me tell ye, yer wee rascal Kili is far too friendly w' all sorts o' people. Including Elves."

"Then I suppose I raised him right," she said drily. "I never believed in holding that grudge."

* * *

A knock on the door woke Mari up. Squinting at the light she had to admit that she didn't feel very refreshed, though it had more to do with coming home very late than having too much to drink. She had had one ale, but much more lemonade. With a gravelly voice she invited in whomever was on the other side. The door opened and Prim stepped inside with eyes a bit too wide to be natural.

"Good morning Prim," Mari greeted her as she sat up and raked her hand through her dishevelled mass of hair.

Prim dove down on the bed and now Mari noticed the packages in her arms.

"Look! They were hanging on the door this morning! They are for you!" Prim picked up a label and showed her. To Miss Mari, it stated.

Mari stared dully at the packages and then fell backwards on the bed and tugged the quilt over her head as best she could with Prim sitting on it.

"But Mari! Aren't you going to open them?"

"They're probably from some of those chasing after me this past week and I don't want to deal with that right now," was Mari's muffled reply.

"But they're presents," Prim said.

Mari threw off the quilt. "Yes, they are. And I have learned the hard way to not accept gifts from men. They may see it as pre-payment on services."

Prim's eyes widened. "No! No one would do such a thing!"

Mari arched an eyebrow. "Really? No unsavoury behaviour has ever been recorded in the history of the Shire?" Prim was silent. "Thought so." Mari sighed. "Are they anonymous or are there names there as well?"

Prim dug around and fished up a card and read it, with a small smile spreading over her face. She looked up and handed it to Mari, who read it and then dropped her hand holding the card on the quilt. She stared at the card for a few moments and then reached out and picked up one of the packages, tearing it open. Inside was a sword, clearly of Dwarven make. Carefully she gripped the hilt, unsheathed the sword and raised it, holding the blade in front of her face.

"It's perfect," Mari breathed. She sheathed it again and tore open next package, which revealed a set of long knives, with the same design as the sword. The third package was the largest and she weighed it in her hands before opening it, throwing a quick glance at Prim before she slowly begun unwrapping it. She carefully picked up a bow, that too with the same patterns as on the blade weapons. She pretended to nock an arrow, pulling the string back, and then let it sink down in her lap.

"I don't think they'll expect any services," Prim said quietly.

Mari looked up at her. "I know they won't."

A rustle at the door made the two look up. In the doorway Viola stood staring at the weapons in Mari's lap.

"By the Valar! Were those things presents?" she asked, looking slightly horrified.

Mari grinned. "Yes. And rather amazing ones too." She carefully unsheathed the sword again to show the hilt and blade in all its glory. "Look at that craftsmanship. It's the same pattern on all of them, so I suspect they made it up for me. They all have their unique one, based on family and clan, which is on everything they own." She didn't tell Prim and Viola what she has spied immediately; that this was a variation of the Durin one.

"We've been practising just over a month now and it's been clear that their weapons are a bit too large and heavy for me. I'm not overly surprised they made me weapons of my own, but I didn't expect them to be this fancy."

Silence settled in the room until Mari quickly wiggled free of the quilt without sending the weapons to the floor and got up.

"I must go over there and say thanks!" she exclaimed and rummaged around finding her clothes.

"Will you not have breakfast, dear?" Viola asked.

Mari's head whipped up. "Of course. I'll just dress first."

Prim and Viola left, closing the door behind them, leaving Mari standing there, staring at the weapons on the bed. Slowly she stepped back to the bed and studied the pattern, leaning down and tracing it with her fingers. She sighed and crouched down before the bed. They were all being beyond kind to her, both the Hobbits and the Dwarves, a kindness she hadn't expected, and it made her cry. She sunk down on her knees and leaned her head on her forearms resting on the edge of the bed as the sobs racked her body.


	5. Chapter 5

As Mari braided her hair in the usual Dutch braid she studied the weather outside. It had stopped snowing which meant the temperatures would be dropping again. After rummaging around among her clothes, she pulled on trousers that Viola had fashioned for her, made of wool, lined with soft linen, fitting like a glove.

Once she had mentioned she could use some decent clothes fitting her that were of the more practical kind, Viola had taken her measurements and gone to work. The result was several pairs of trousers, a number of shirts and some tunics reaching halfway down her thighs. One of Isembard's retired coats had been taken apart and refitted for her to wear. Ori had given her a leather belt she could use, which had been his when he was a child.

Trudging on down the hill after breakfast, she, to her dismay, realised that the snow now was so deep it slipped down inside the boots she was wearing, melting and making her feet wet and cold. What she wouldn't give for snowshoes or skis right now! She stopped dead in her tracks. During her time in the Shire she hadn't seen anyone use anything like that and she wondered why. They did get snow every winter, that much she knew, but no one seemed to have come up with the idea. Or perhaps she had missed something?

With her feet propped up in front of the fire in the Dwarven kitchen, she put the question forward. Did anyone use snowshoes or skis? The assembled family glanced at each other and then murmured a negative. She arched her eyebrows.

"Well then. It's time to introduce everyone to something that is both fun and practical," she concluded and recruited Kili to help with the woodwork. "I can't carve much myself, but I know how it's supposed to look," she explained. Fili was tasked with the metal work that was needed, and Ori she entrusted with the practical design part. Borrowing a pen and some paper from him, she began sketching.

Four long-haired heads in various colours, with or without braids, hung over the table as Mari produced sketch after sketch and explained as she went. It turned out that they all had an excellent grip on maths and construction, which didn't come as a surprise to her, and after the introduction, the three young men were fast at work with detailed drawings. Once they were in agreement, they slunk off to begin their work on prototypes, leaving Mari in the kitchen with Dis.

"How are you doing this morning?" Dis asked and sat down, pouring another cup of tea for Mari.

"Quite well. I'm going to pay for being up early after a late night, but it's just to adapt and overcome. There's more celebration to be had this evening." Mari picked up the cup, fretting for a few moments.

"I'm wondering," she began and looked down at her tea, "who came up with the pattern on the sword and bow?" She sipped her tea carefully so as not to burn herself on the hot liquid, but also to brace herself for the answer. While logic would dictate Ori being the one coming up with the ornament, she suspected it was Kili.

"That would be Kili." Dis nodded. "He began making the bow and quiver first, once they discussed your issues with the size and weight of what they use. It takes time to make a bow of his making. Longer than making blades."

Mari nodded. She knew it was layer upon layer of wood glued together and even if she didn't know much about such things, she understood that it had to take time.

"So you've seen it?" She moved to hold the cup with both her hands.

"I have, yes." Dis smiled. "I can tell you understand the pattern."

Mari looked down in the cup. "I did. And I had a good cry over it too. You're all so very kind to me. I had no idea that I had this much karma saved up." Dis looked confused and Mari hurried to add, "Some believe that if we act kindly and are generous, it will eventually reward you, and vice versa, if you're mean it will come back to you. You reap what you sow. It's called karma, good or bad."

Dis leaned over and put her hand on Mari's arm. "If there is anyone in this world who understands what happened to you, it would be us. And banished as we were by the dragon, we still retained more than you."

Mari nodded, debating inwardly with what to say next.

"How much influence do you have over your brother?" Mari asked, keeping her face under careful control.

"Thorin is Thorin, and when his mind is made up, it's difficult to reason with him," was Dis' equally careful reply.

Mari nodded. "Thought so."

"You gave him something to think about before he left. He may pay more heed to anything you say than the rest of us because of what you know." Dis gave her a meaningful glance.

Mari snorted. "I don't know if I could stand my ground though. He's not someone I'd want to cross."

With a small smile, Dis poured some tea in her own cup. "Keep in mind that he's no different than the rest of us. He must eat, sleep and visit the privy, and he's not immune to fear."

"I'll try to remember. I mean, technically I know this, but it's not that easy when he throws that glare at you."

A small smile tugged at Dis' lips. "I think it's time for some stories from our youth," she said. The mischievous glint in her eyes was unmistakeable as she begun retelling amusing mishaps from the past.

* * *

Using the newly fashioned snowshoes, she made her way up the hill with the skis on her shoulder and ski poles in her right hand. She was both excited and nervous, because she knew she had spectators at the foot of the hill, and it had been years since she stood on skis, going down a hill.

At the top, she placed the skis on the snow, unclasped the left snowshoe, fastened the first ski, then repeated it with the right boot. She gathered the snowshoes and shoved them down in the sack on her back before gripping the ski poles and readying herself to go over the hill crest. Ahead of time, she had tried the skis on a reasonably flat field which had given her a fair insight into what she could expect.

She stared down the hill with narrow eyes. "Telemark, here we go," she whispered and pushed herself over the edge.

The slope wasn't very long but by the time she made it down, she had managed to get a pretty good grip on the quirks the skis she had strapped to her feet had. To her great relief she didn't fall flat on her face. She came to a full stop as Kili and Ori hurried over, with Fili trailing behind in a more orderly fashion.

"I have never seen anything like it!" Kili exclaimed.

"Does it take a long time to learn?" Ori asked with his eyes glued to the fruits of their labour strapped to her feet.

Fili came up to stand next to Ori. "Are they functioning well?"

Mari grinned widely. "This is like having the 19th century strapped to my feet, but they work surprisingly well." She turned towards Ori. "Give me two days if you have your own skis, and you'll be doing what I just did."

The trio stared at her and then at each other.

"Mahal, we're making skis!" Kili said and laughed.

Prim and Marge stepped around the men with wide smiles.

"That looked fun!" Prim said enthusiastically. "A bit dangerous, but fun!"

"It's not without its dangers, but if you're sensible, the worst that can happen is that you faceplant into the snow, and here where the snow isn't packed hard, that's not a big deal," Mari replied, leaning on the ski poles, in her mind looking very much like a seasoned slalom skier.

"I wish we could try," Marge said wistfully.

Mari straightened. "Well, the issue is with boots. You can't do this without boots on your feet."

Ori rounded Kili and stepped between the young women looking at their feet. "You could perhaps try some of our boots? There might be a pair or two that could fit."

Both women looked down, hitching their skirts a bit higher. "Not mine though," he continued. "But perhaps Dwalin's?" He looked up at Kili and Fili who nodded.

The group slowly started making their way to the forge, as Kili and Ori discussed the changes that could be made to the next pair of skis to make them better, with input from Mari. There was no mistaking Kili and Ori's enthusiasm, and the group soon stopped as Mari unclasped the skis and offered one of them to try the skis out. Ori and Kili eyed each other before Fili's involvement settled the matter.

Kili was happy to let his brother make a fool of himself and before they made it back to the forge, peals of laughter echoed from the group. It was quickly settled that they all needed a pair and a wager was made on who the first one would be to make it down a hill without toppling over and actually managing to make turns on the way.

* * *

For once Mari was ready to run out the door of The Green Dragon. It had been a slow evening, without much else to do but cleaning. Fortunately Kili had shown up early, and had been sitting by the bar chatting with her as she worked, sorting and scrubbing away. People headed home early and Mari fetched her knits, coat and cloak to do the same, when Mr. Rumble, with a knitted brow, stood glaring at the door.

"There's something wrong with this winter. Can you feel it? It feels like . . . magic. But not good magic," he grumbled.

Kili and Mari glanced at each other. "No, I can't say I can sense anything," Kili replied. "But then again, we are insensitive to most magic."

Mari shook her head. "I don't think I could tell it was magic, even if it bit me in the arse."

Kili snorted loudly and Mr. Rumble turned, looking at her in surprise. Mari's cheeks turned pink.

"Well, gentlemen, Marigold Smith in a nutshell. Foot permanently wedged in her mouth." She quickly wrapped the scarf around her neck, all but fleeing out the door.

"Miss Mari," Kili begun once they had stepped outside and had their snowshoes strapped to their feet.

"Can we just lose that Miss thing you've got going? I feel like an old maid the way everyone is using it," she cut in.

Kili smirked. "It's supposed to be respectful."

"Oh, I'm well aware of that. Doesn't do much for how I feel about it though." She pulled the hood of her cloak up in an attempt to retain some her body heat in the frigid conditions outside. As she turned her eyes forward a strong sense of familiarity gripped her, not having anything to do with her knowing this route home. The sparse forest on the northern side of the bog they traversed, together with the winter conditions, made her feel quite at home. It all reminded her about the countryside where her grandparents lived, and she felt a pang of homesickness. She quickly glanced at her companion but he seemed unaware of any shifts in her mood and she was determined to keep it that way. In the dim light she saw him briefly flash a grin.

"I must use it in public, or people will start thinking I'm taking liberties."

She rolled her eyes but decided to accept it for what it was. "All right. What was it you were going to say anyway?"

"Ah, uh . . . Right." He smiled apologetically at her. "The way you word things isn't so much different from the way we Dwarves speak."

She huffed. "I hear you speak almost every day and you do _not_ embarrass everyone else around you on a daily basis."

"It's because I don't speak Khuzdul. It's a bit more colourful than what you hear around the Shire."

She pondered this. "But you're snorting and snickering."

Kili's face fell and he shook his head. "I'm sorry. I apologise with all my heart. It's not to make fun of you, but because it's so familiar. And it's amusing when people react the way they do."

With a smile she fiddled with the cloak which had slipped off her shoulder, and forced it back into place again. "I'm glad to hear it. Now, can I ask something?"

Kili threw out the hand not holding the light. "Certainly. Ask away."

"Why don't you have a beard?" She gauged his reaction for a brief moment as she weighed on one foot and noticed a small smile playing on his lips.

"What is my weapon of choice?" he asked.

"The bow and arrow," she replied.

"Exactly. You have seen my brother, mother and uncle. Do I keep my hair the way they do?"

She shook her head. "It's fairly short."

"I don't wear furs the way they do either."

Mari was amused. "I'm beginning to sense an explanation here."

"I would expect nothing less. You are clever, Mari," he said breezily, and she tilted her head as she noticed that he left out using Miss.

"So, all those things have to do with you choosing the bow?" she asked.

"They do. I'm doing something as unnatural to Dwarves as shaving. Not all of it though." He pulled up his hair, revealing his left ear.

Mari grinned. "I've seen them. Those sideburns are seriously rivalling the entire hippie movement." She hurried to explain, "It was a time when hair – lots of it – was high fashion. It's why I asked, because, well, you have stubble so you clearly can grow one. And the others have, even if they're shorter than those of most Dwarves in our stories, who have really long beards."

He laughed. "It's not so far from the truth. This," he rubbed his chin with his gloved knuckles, "is breaking every unofficial rule there is for both men and women among our people. But it's easier this way. There is much to be said about not having half your supper in your beard once you're finished," he smirked.

"And archery is made more simple," she mused. It was all so simple and logical.

"It is." He glanced at her. "What does your kind of males look like?" The words all but tumbled out of his mouth making his question so different from Ori's, which were products of an analytic mind, wanting to understand the world and worlds beyond this one.

She stopped and canted her head, letting her eyes search the sky above. It was silly really, because none of the suns out there was her own sun. There was nothing to look for, but she kept her eyes trained on the sky anyway.

"You know what Men in this world look like? Like that, but with even more differences in how they dress, wear their hair and facial hair – if they choose to have it. Some doesn't grow facial hair at all while others have more than enough for two. Depends on their heritage." She glanced at him.

"Do you know anything about how that works?" she asked.

"How what works?" he replied, looking mildly confused.

"Why people look the way they do and why you can tell if people are related by just looking at them?"

Kili looked down at his feet. "No, it just is."

She nodded as she slowly begun walking again, and started telling him about how they were built up, from the existence of molecules, how genes controlled everything living, to a rough anatomic lesson.

"Though I don't know exactly what you look like inside, I don't think you differ that much." Swerving in front of him she stopped him, pulling her mitten off, putting her fingers just under his jaw, pressing against his throat next to the wind pipe. His eyes grew wide and he froze as she stood there with a small smile and far away eyes. She let go and tugged on the mitten again.

"You've got a pulse point exactly in the same spot as me. You seem to be pretty fit, by the way." She grinned at him.

"How would you know?" he asked and frowned.

"Because despite us labouring a bit now when walking, your pulse is pretty calm," she explained and continued to walk. He was quick to follow. "There are other things of course. Your hair and skin look the way it should, your eyes are clear, you are alert and quick, and you move easily. Those are all signs that you're doing well."

"Sometimes it seems like you are from a very distant future," Kili said solemnly.

"In a way I am. Another world, but definitely from a future one. I can explain a lot of thing in this world that you don't know anything about. Or, I should say, you often know that if you do A, B will follow, but what you can't really explain why that is. For the most part I know why that is. Some things you think of as almost magical, we learn about and explore in simple school labs when we're still children." She looked up at the black winter sky and halted once more.

"Look at those stars. Those are suns like the one Middle Earth is circling. They are at incredible distances and the light take years and years, sometimes thousands of years or more, to travel to us. Can you imagine?" She glanced at him. He stood gazing at the starry sky above, looking subdued.

"I can't," she continued. "Not really. But the most amazing thing is that what those stars and planets out there are built with, that's the same things we are made out of. We're literally made of star dust." She smiled at the sky and then turned her head to look at him. He met her gaze, looking awed.

"That sounds . . . romantic," he mused.

"The sciences in which you study the world definitely have romantic sides to them. Some scholars can be downright poetic when they start talking about the world around us, in particular about the stars. But now we're really far from the original question. Sorry" She set off again.

"It doesn't matter. I enjoy hearing about all these things." He smiled and kept her pace.

She reflected for a moment over how quickly he had mastered snowshoes and skis. He was the most fearless of the three young men, which in secret made her wince, but it also meant he had an easier time learning to master skiing in particular. He wasn't afraid of speed and took a tumble with good humour, laughing at himself as he shook off the snow.

Instinctively he understood that snowshoes demanded a slightly different technique when walking and was soon annoying Fili with his teasing and shoving, which Fili couldn't return. Ori, used to the brothers' antics, steered clear of them and made reasonable progress, if not as fast as Kili. With a slight shake to her head she forced her mind to pick up the original topic.

"Still, digressing is a bad habit of mine. I shouldn't. So. Men? Short, tall, thin, not thin at all, with lots of muscle bulk or hardly anything at all, a lot of hair or nothing at all . . . Any style, shape, and a number of colours, you've got it." She staggered a bit on her snowshoes as she stepped in an unexpected hole. Kili caught her arm and steadied her.

"Thank you." She shot him a thankful glance. "Anyway. We don't have Elves, Hobbit, Dwarves or Orcs, so I think that may explain the range."

"You left out Men," he pointed out.

"It's because we're like Men. I can't say if we're exactly the same, but it certainly looks like it. To me it's a mystery why I am vertically challenged all of a sudden, because I should be taller. It could have something to do with me dying before ending up here."

They were silent for a while as they trudged on in the snow.

"When I grew up, I read this story about a boy who knew he was going to die, and whose older brother told him amazing stories about a place he'd go to after he died. He'd be healthy again and be able to do all these things he could never do. He'd not have to live in a small flat in a town, and never want for the basics in life." She paused as she stepped over a snow drift.

"As the story went along, both brothers died and ended up in this magical place, where life was good. The little brother was all healthy and could be like any normal boy again. It seemed like a perfect world."

"It was just that there was an evil there, a man from whom evil was spreading, threatening all the people in that world. The brothers set out to stop this – kids, you know?" She smiled as she briefly glanced at Kili.

"And they succeeded. But it came at a price. The elder brother ended up dying, and as he was waiting to die, he told his little brother about this other place, waiting for them both. It's at that point you understand that he's making these places up. But because they believe in them, they come true."

"This story has been on my mind a lot lately, because I suspect this may be my version of an afterlife. This is my Nangijala." She glanced at Kili again. "Nangijala was the name the older brother gave that first fantasy place," she explained.

"Since I know this world quite well, of course I know that there's evil here as well. What to do about it, I don't know. I'm just a little person in this grand world with magic and wizards. And I wasn't even allowed to be what I was, as tall as I was. There's probably a reason for this change but I don't know what that reason is."

"That's . . . quite a story," Kili said quietly. "You've said it before, that you think you're here for a reason."

"I do. The fact that I ended up here, in the Shire, at this particular time, getting to know your family – yes." She said it with such a matter-of-fact manner, Kili stopped in his tracks, turning to study her. Mari stopped too, meeting his eyes.

"It's probably quite necessary that I learn to handle those weapons you gave me. I just didn't want to accept that I need to before," she continued.

Kili shook his head. "What is it you know, Mari?" he murmured.

She slumped a bit. "I have dropped enough hints."

"And we're all going to die?" he asked and inched closer, looking concerned.

"Well, we all are. Eventually. Maybe not the Elves, but the rest of us. We are born, we live and die. Circle of life." She smiled briefly.

"That's not what you're implying." He watched as the internal debate played out on her face, and then she averted her gaze.

"I have already told you I don't believe in fate. You were there when I spoke to your uncle about this."

"You have a talent for instigating fear." With a sigh he dipped his eyes to the snow-covered ground.

"I never meant to do that, but if it makes you all think a bit about the choices you make, I suppose that's a good thing. Some things must be done, but it's wise to think it through and not go along with not so bright decisions."

"And my uncle will decide unwisely." He sounded like he couldn't believe Thorin could do such a thing. She smiled as she thought about what Dis had told her. What a difference between Dis and her sons! But then again, Thorin had been her sons' hero, while Dis saw him as the man he was.

"He might. Unfortunately you, Fili, and Ori adore him a bit too much to see he could." She made a face when she saw the vague hurt in Kili's eyes. "I don't mean to rake on him, or on you. You're all so bloody heroic." A note of anguish found its way into her voice.

He stared incredulously at her. "Do you think I'm heroic?" he asked.

A laugh escaped her. "It's somehow so _you_ to latch on to that." He looked a bit like a kicked puppy and she reached out and put her mitten-clad hand on his arm. "Yes Kili. You are incredibly heroic. Loyal and eager to do the right thing. There's not a dishonest bone in your body." She couldn't contain her sadness as she continued, "I wish you lived in another time when you didn't have to deal with what's to come." With that she dropped her hand to her side.

"I wish you could tell me about the future. I'd do anything to set things right," he said.

"I know. And that's part of the problem. That 'anything' part? That's what's going to get you k-" She clamped her mouth shut and looked away. "You can't fight your nature," she suddenly said and continued to trudge onwards again.

Kili scrambled behind her and caught up, stopping her by gripping her arm.

"You said you don't believe in fate," he growled.

"And I don't. But I don't think anyone can change who they fundamentally are. Not you, not me. You are what you are and somehow I must figure out a way to kick your arses in such a way that you'll do what you have to, what you feel you need to, without it all becoming a catastrophe, for you personally and for all of Middle Earth." She panted at she closed her mouth and she couldn't look at him any longer.

"This is big. Much bigger than about your uncle, and a dragon who stole your home." She looked at the hand holding her arm in a firm grip, raised hers and put it over his, slowly prying it loose and then catching it, holding it.

"Come on. Let's go home. We've still got time and nothing gets better because we're freezing our arses off out here." She tugged at his hand and they slowly continued to make their way back to Tuckborough.

* * *

Kili slumped in an armchair in front of the fire, pushing his feet closer to the hearth. Picking up his pipe he began filling it with pipe-weed from his pouch, and packing it just so. Leaning forward he picked up a splinter, held it in the fire until a small flame was lit, and then used it to light his pipe. He threw the splinter on the fire and leaned back against the back of the chair.

No matter how he tried, he couldn't imagine himself dying, but there was no doubt. If they continued the way they did, he was heading towards an early death. He didn't want to die, but he never reflected on that when he found himself in situations that potentially could lead to the end. There had been several times when he had realised that he could have died after a skirmish, but it had never crossed his mind while he had been in those situations.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he recognised this mindset as being something of a problem. He didn't think. He just acted. If it was the right thing to do, he did it. With a sinking heart he realised that he probably wouldn't be able to change that. Mari was right. He was who he was. An understanding of her predicament dawned on him and something sounding an awful lot like a groan escaped him.

"You sound like someone stuck a dagger in your chest, twisting it around," Fili said and moved another armchair around, allowing him to sit comfortably by the fire.

The absurdity had Kili snorting quietly. "Have you ever actually witnessed something like that?" he asked. They were no strangers to death and killing, but they were both of the opinion that the faster they could end an enemy, the better. Inflicting pain before death was something Orcs and to a certain extent Elves did, not Dwarves.

"You know what I mean. Something is eating you." Fili went through the same procedure with his pipe as Kili had before.

"I don't know what to say," Kili replied truthfully. He had no idea what to tell his brother or if he should say anything at all. As far as he was aware, only his uncle and he himself knew anything about Mari's actual insights into their future, even if he suspected his mother was privy to that breakfast conversation. The siblings were close and he knew his mother carried considerable weight with her brother.

"How about telling why you're looking so miserable?" Fili pressed. "You're usually not this morose when you've walked Miss Mari home. Quite the opposite, in fact." The smirk that had been plastered on his face whenever Kili happened to so much as glance at Mari, curved his lips upwards, putting a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Kili turned his head to look at his brother. "What are you trying to say?" he asked, instantly on his guard.

"That you are quietly carrying a little torch for Miss Mari, and somehow she poured a bucket of water on that," Fili retorted and put the pipe in his mouth.

Kili chuckled, pleased that his brother had misjudged the situation. "No, she didn't."

Fili laughed heartedly. Kili realised his blunder a moment too late, and it made him scowl.

"I didn't expect you to fall so easily into that little trap." Fili was clearly gloating now.

"Why don't you go and break a leg or something," Kili grumbled.

"You know it's highly unlikely. So. Miss Mari, eh?" Fili continued to look smug. "Mother and uncle are going to love that."

"No, they're not. I know that all too well," Kili sneered.

"Is it that bad?" Fili grew serious.

"What? No! I'm just . . . I know what's expected." Kili sighed. "Although I think I'm going to let you and uncle shoulder the expectations and _obligations_, while I'm burying myself in work. It has always been my lot in life anyway."

"What are you? A whining baby? Stop feeling sorry for yourself!" Fili exclaimed and aimed a kick at Kili, who quickly dodged it by yanking the knee Fili was aiming for away from the attack.

"Fili, has uncle talked to you about the conversation he and I had with Miss Mari that morning he apologised?" Kili asked, keeping his voice under control.

The blond man shook his head. "No, I can't say he did."

Kili sighed and studied the pipe in his hand. "No, I can't tell you. You'll have to ask Miss Mari or uncle. But I can say this much, it's what came out of that conversation that is affecting me."

Fili eyed his brother for long moments without any sign of the taunting moments before. "And it came up this evening again."

Kili nodded. "It did. Mr. Rumble is convinced something is wrong, and he's not the first Hobbit I have heard say such things. He senses magic. One thing led to the other, and Miss Mari let something slip that I had suspected, but she hadn't actually told me." He turned to look at his brother.

"Talk to her. I think she'll tell you, and explain everything much better than I could do."

"I will," Fili nodded. He tilted his head slightly. "And Miss Mari?"

"What of her?" Kili's voice was carefully neutral.

"You're not even going to flirt with her?"

The glare Kili sent his brother could have levelled cities.

"Brother, I believe you're in greater trouble than you think," Fili sighed, studying his dark haired brother who continued to make a fairly good Thorin impression.

Fili shook his head and pushed himself out of the chair, emptying his pipe and cleaning it out, putting it in the usual place on the mantelpiece where he kept it during the night.

"I'll leave you to your brooding." He paused and looked down on Kili. "I never thought the day would come when I'd see an incarnation of uncle in you."

He slowly left the room with heavy steps. Kili let his head slump backwards, thudding against the back of the armchair, his pipe forgotten in his hand. With Fili gone he allowed himself to think about _her_, and despite everything, it made him smile.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Gandalf! Bad news! And finally I can introduce one hugely important character; modelled after a good friend of mine who once left her home halfway around the world to study, and 22 years later still lives in the freezing hell-hole that Scandinavia often is. For Nisha.

* * *

Gandalf came to a halt and considered the odd planks of wood sticking out of the snow, tapering off in a curve at the top, as well as the wicker frames hanging on the wall behind. Carefully he studied the details in wood, metal and leather, but they gave no clues to what these things were used for. He shook his head. The Dwarves had come up with something new again.

He knocked on the door with his staff and soon the door was flung open, revealing Dwalin, who made an almost comical face at the sight of the wizard.

"Gandalf," he greeted and with a certain amount of reluctance he stepped aside to let the wizard inside.

"Oh, Dwalin! I'm pleased to see you in good health," Gandalf replied jovially as he nodded and stepped through the door.

"I see the same goes fer ye." Dwalin's voice was dry and he didn't bother to hide his suspicion, well knowing the wizard wouldn't take offence. Aside from his presence at the Midsummer festivities, his visits usually meant bad news of some kind.

Once inside, Gandalf waited for Dwalin to close the door and lead the way. The kitchen was warm and the atmosphere was pleasant. Around the table and the fireplace sat the three young Dwarves, as well as two Hobbit lasses and a person Gandalf couldn't immediately identify.

One of the women was reading from a book while the two Durin heirs sat in armchairs puffing on their pipes. The young scribe was working on something on a piece of paper and Gandalf guessed it was a drawing. The remaining two sat at Fili's and Kili's feet on cushions; the Hobbit knitting, while the unknown person – a young woman by the look of things – simply sat propped up against the chair Kili was sitting in, with her head resting against his right knee, her eyes trained on the young Hobbit woman reading. The entire scene was breathing friendship, comfort and peace.

As he entered the kitchen all eyes fell on him and after a moment of surprised silence, polite greetings met him. Gandalf stepped further inside and Fili got out of his armchair, offering his seat to the wizard. The young Hobbit at his feet scooted slightly to the side, allowing an easier access to the chair. As he sat down and Fili secured his staff next to the chair, Dis strode through the door, with Thorin on her heels, his face in something looking an awful lot like a scowl. Behind trailed Dwalin and finally Dori.

More pleasantries were exchanged as well as offers for food and drink. Out came bread, cheese, and wine and he was handed a plate and a glass was placed within easy reach. All the while, he surreptitiously studied the unknown woman, now sitting cross-legged with hands neatly folded in her lap. She was openly studying him with her large brown eyes.

Intriguingly, she looked like a Man, but she was the size of a halfling. Her hair had the same colour as rye, darker at the roots, and her eyebrows painted distinct arcs on her fair and rosy complexion. A heart-shaped face with a short upturned nose and full lips made her pretty, if not a classic beauty. In comparison to the Hobbits and Dis, she looked slender, and it was all shown off in trousers and a tunic, belted at her waist.

How odd, he thought. Everything about her was odd. She didn't fit, yet she seemed to belong as much as any of the other people in the room. Her open scrutiny was the oddest thing of all. It was like she knew him, as if they had been . . . acquainted. Racking his brain didn't help. She was a mystery, but he had good hopes of finding out more ere long.

The Hobbits soon excused themselves, looking to the strange woman – Gandalf finally caught her name – but she decided to stay, completely comfortable in this Dwarven home, and, by the look of things, equally accepted.

As he finished his meal Thorin asked if they could speak in private to which Gandalf agreed. In fact, he had hoped Thorin would have the sense to ask for a private conversation, and they left the kitchen.

"I did not expect you to be here in the Shire," Gandalf said as they made their way through the house.

Thorin threw him a glance. "I have business here," he replied in a clipped tone of voice, and Gandalf held back on inquiring further until they were behind closed doors.

"Something tells me you're not making a social visit," Thorin stated as they sat down in what probably was Thorin's own chamber. The door was closed and bolted. No one would simply walk in on them.

"No, that would be correct," Gandalf replied with a brief smile. "So, what kind of business brings you to this corner of Middle Earth in the middle of winter then?" he continued.

"The family kind," Thorin answered evasively as he leaned his head back against the backrest.

The wizard nodded and the corners of his eyes creased slightly. "I remember when Fili was just a lad, two feet tall, and how he used drive Dwalin's patience to the limit with his mischief."

A sharp glare from Thorin increased Gandalf's amusement. "As I said, it's family business," Thorin began. Then he sighed and the façade cracked. "One of Dis' childhood friends has a daughter close to age as my nephews."

"And you are hoping she'll take to one of them," Gandalf mused.

"Fili specifically." Thorin sighed. "At least she isn't a complete stranger. Over the years they have met in Ered Luin, which, I suppose, is the reason why she has agreed to become more acquainted with him."

"One would think that the heir to Erebor wouldn't face difficulties of that kind."

"We're not in Erebor, as you well know." Thorin's expression was sour.

"That may change," Gandalf suggested and sent Thorin a meaningful look, which the latter pointedly ignored.

"You have some news for me?" Thorin asked coldly. Gandalf decided he had put enough pressure on the king in exile and let the future stay there, for now.

"I don't come with glad tidings." Thorin snorted quietly, which Gandalf ignored. "Dark things are brewing, spreading far and wide. I have long been worried about the darkness in Dol Guldur, and now we are faced with something I suspect may be linked to it. This winter is not of natural origin. The cold and foul weather has a strong grip on lands far to the south, and it allows evil to travel over lands they otherwise wouldn't."

"The Hobbits are talking about magic," Thorin mused and tilted his head as he watched the wizard.

"And they are right. This is a magically induced winter and there's no knowing when it will release its grip on the lands. I fear we will not see spring and summer for a long, long time. It will be felt. These Hobbits don't know what starvation is, but soon they may, unless they are careful. Even that may not be enough. They must stretch their supplies and so must you."

With a quick glance at Thorin Gandalf continued, "I also fear the Shire will see attacks of a kind that is quite unheard of."

Thorin leaned forward. "Orcs," he hissed.

Gandalf nodded. "These people have nothing to defend themselves with and they don't know what to do. I urge you to stay and help them. Make weapons. Train them."

Thorin stared at him, looking indecisive.

"Ered Luin is strong and under competent care in your absence, but the Hobbits and your family are at danger." The wizard said it with emphasis as he pinned the king with his eyes.

Thorin sighed and glanced at the fire. "We are expecting visitors here, as you may have suspected."

"Excellent!" Gandalf exclaimed. "The more the better. You'll need every hand you can persuade to stay."

Giving Gandalf a withering glare he finally nodded. "I suppose you will speak with the Thain too?" he asked.

Gandalf nodded. "Speaking of the Thain, I couldn't help noticing his grandchildren in the kitchen when I arrived." Thorin eyed the grey-clad bearded wizard and nodded. "Though your family has the respect of the inhabitants of the Shire, you haven't had any closer friendships with them. The occasional social visit from the Tooks, but very little beyond what's polite. But this? Something has changed." He peered slyly at Thorin.

"And Miss Prim and Miss Marge were the only ones you noticed?" Thorin asked evenly.

"I never miss anything," Gandalf huffed. "A Miss Mari with obvious ties to Isembard Took's family."

Thorin nodded. "Earlier in autumn, Isembard found the girl unconscious on the road as he was heading home to Tuckborough. He brought her home and ever since she's a mystery intriguing the people here."

"And how come she's firmly planted in your kitchen using your nephew as a backrest?" Gandalf's eyes twinkled slightly.

Thorin's eyes darkened in equal measures. "She was in want of company, aside from the Isembard Misses. The lads made her acquaintance, and she sought Dis out specifically, after which my sister took the girl to her heart."

"Hmmm," Gandalf mused. "There is something odd about her . . ." he murmured, as if he were speaking to himself. His eyes snapped to Thorin's carefully blank face and his eyes narrowed.

"And no one knows who she is or where she comes from?" Gandalf continued.

"I have never heard of it." Thorin's blank expression raised the wizard's warning flags, but he also knew he'd not get any answers from him now.

Gandalf was silent for a while. "It's the strangest thing. When she looked at me it was like she knew me." He met Thorin's eyes. "She's not like the Hobbits, this one."

"Though she's a stranger to our ways, she has, during a surprisingly short period of time, become a part of this society and made friends with Hobbits and Dwarves alike. But you're correct. She's not like the Hobbits."

Gandalf's eyes twinkled. "No, I can tell she's not much for Hobbit propriety. Trousers, and was that a knife I spotted in her belt? Seems quite Dwarven-like to me." He was quite amused.

Thorin smiled thinly. "She's learning to wield weapons, which is why she's dressed in that fashion."

Gandalf nodded. He hoped he would have the opportunity to speak to Miss Mari herself before he left the Shire. Something told him it would be wise to find out precisely who she was.

Mari was putting on her cloak when Gandalf stepped into the hallway, with Thorin slowly trailing behind, thumbs hooked in his belt and eyes looking darker than they actually were. She paused and met Thorin's eyes and he flickered them to Gandalf and then back again, dipping his chin. She sensed the warning he was trying to convey.

Gandalf suddenly snapped his head to look at Thorin who simply smiled benignly at the wizard. The wizard narrowed his eyes slightly and turned to look at Mari.

"Miss Mari," he greeted her.

"Gandalf," she replied calmly.

"I intend to visit the Thain before I leave. Would you mind if I kept you company part of the way?" he asked politely.

You conniving wizard, she thought and smirked. "No, I wouldn't mind," she replied. In fact, I have a few questions myself, she added silently. She continued to dress as the wizard put on his knits and wools as he conversed politely about nothing in particular with Thorin.

She turned to say goodbye to Ori and Kili who stood hovering in the background, keeping respectful eyes on Gandalf and Thorin. With a smile she pulled them both into a hug at the same time.

"He's an incredibly powerful wizard, but he's at the same time a very caring man, in his way," she whispered. "I'll be fine." She let them go and said out loud, "See you soon." They both had wide eyes flicking between her and the wizard, until Kili remembered they should bid her goodbye.

When she turned, Gandalf was waiting for her and with a quick curtsey at Thorin, she stepped out through the front door. She reached for her snowshoes hanging just outside the door and started putting them on with the wizard following her outside, halting to look at the process with interest.

Straightening, she smiled and held out one of her feet. "Snowshoes!"

Gandalf chuckled. "When I arrived I was wondering what they had come up with this time."

"Well, actually it's me," Mari said and picked up a pair of ski poles she sometimes used to make walking easier. She stuck her hands through the loops, gripped the handles and raised one, banging it against the nearest set of skis.

"Those are skis. You put them on your feet too, but they allow you to move much quicker. You slide across the snow," she explained. "Both skis and snowshoes are common where I come from."

They began walking and Gandalf eyed her carefully. "Something tells me I should know you," he mused.

She peered up at him – blimey, he was tall when you were only four foot four – and shook her head.

"No, I don't think you do," she replied.

"But there is something about you..." his voice trailed off and his eyes became piercing.

"I'm sure there is. I expected you to . . . I don't know, feel it? Is that the right description?" she asked. "I'm not from around here, but you already know that, don't you? And by here, I mean Middle Earth."

"Yes," he replied slowly. "But you're not magical."

She grinned. "No. I think I'm particularly dense when it comes to that. The Dwarves doesn't sense much, and I don't think I sense anything at all. Or perhaps I don't know what it's supposed to be like. You could try me, couldn't you?" she asked.

"You would willingly expose yourself to a wizard's magic?" he asked, sounding amused.

"Well, I'm counting on you to not hurt me. You're not Radagast, but still." She climbed over a snow wall which Gandalf simply stepped over.

"And you would know anything about that?" he asked, still amused. She stopped and so did he.

"Gandalf, I know you're powerful. Very powerful. And you will become stronger with time." She smiled a sad smile. "I know you're seeing things that might come, though you may not tell others. Not even Lady Galadriel, I think, even if she has her own source, but . . . I always wondered if you were the stronger, or if she was. Not that it matters really." She drew a breath. "You have reasons for what you do, I understand that. I know it."

"Who are you," he asked, with slightly narrowed eyes. She could feel the sharpness of his mind as she looked into them.

"I'm here to change the course of history. Apparently." She fidgeted slightly. "I feel very silly right now, because I'm not supposed to be heroic or in epic tales. I'm just a girl who used to read about worlds she wished were real. Maybe this was thrust in my face, and maybe I chose this. I don't know. But I do know I must make friends with you, because I think we'll see a lot of each other eventually."

He eyed her carefully and shifted on his staff to lean slightly closer. "There's no deception in your eyes," he stated.

"Good. We have that out of the way. Perhaps I should start at the beginning?" she asked, and Gandalf nodded. Mari drew a deep breath and started with the first moments when she woke up in an unfamiliar room, months ago.

* * *

Mari was tired of the cold and though she wasn't exactly starving, she was hungry from time to time now in a way that she had never been in her life. Food could only to be had on rations. The Green Dragon was now kept closed several days a week and she barely had anything to do when she was there. It wasn't long before Mr. Rumble told her he couldn't keep her. It was with a heavy heart she had to give it up.

Her time was now split between weapons training and gathering of firewood, and when no one was looking she did more than that, using an axe she had been given by Dwalin to take down trees and cutting them up, bringing them into the shed to dry for future use. If this winter was to last over the coming calendar year, then they'd need all they could get.

The Dwarven family now had visitors, which gave the Hobbits something new to gossip about. Among these guests was one young woman named Gisla, and at the first opportunity she and Mari were introduced.

Gisla had black, thick and wavy hair, deep brown eyes framed with long black lashes, full lips, a softly rounded nose, and her skin had a golden brown tone. She reminded Mari of one of the Pakistani women who had sold magazines, Oyster Cards, gas tokens, Bassett's Wine Gums and Ibuprofen in the shop around the corner in the neighbourhood Mari had lived in before she died. Gisla had a shortly trimmed beard, though shorter than anyone else's aside from Kili. She also kept her hair surprisingly short. When asked about it, she had simply shrugged and given a similar answer as Kili had. Kili and Mari had snickered as they stole amused glances at the older generation pretending to not listen to the conversation.

Unlike the Shire dwarves, Gisla wasn't used to outside company and was brimming with open curiosity, eagerly asking about everything and listening to the stories they all contributed with. Mari, Prim and Marge had quickly struck up a friendship with the young visitor which at least somewhat made up for the lack of social contact Mari had lost when she no longer worked at the Green Dragon.

The official reason for this visit from Ered Luin may have been the friendship between Dis and Gisla's mother, but it was obvious to Mari that the real reason was about something else entirely; marriage. Gisla herself quickly admitted she had first and foremost been driven by her curiosity of the outside world, and the whole situation was slightly awkward at the beginning. Fili lost his usual confidence and Mari suspected he would have fled to the woods under the pretence to hunt if he could.

The whole situation changed when Ori and Mari concocted the plan to drag both of them outside for some snow-related fun, and left the two behind as they threw themselves down one of their favourite slopes. When Gisla and Fili finally made it down to where Ori and Mari waited, sitting in a sheltered corner in the sun, picnicking on some smoked mutton and ale, the awkwardness was gone.

Kili had at first found it amusing, and had good-naturedly teased Fili when Gisla couldn't hear. However, from one day to the next, a while after the awkwardness had been cured, courtesy Mari and Ori's sly plan, Kili changed, becoming distant and brooding, keeping to himself. When Mari looked to Fili and Ori for any hints, they were both evasive, which she found odd.

This new incarnation of Kili ceased to speak with her other than when absolutely necessary and that hurt, Mari admitted to herself. It actually hurt more than it should, and that realisation was horrifying enough for her to steer clear of the Dwarves, only showing up for specific invitations and the training.

More often than not though, it was Kili rather than Fili, who met her during those hours. With his good mood vanished, they found themselves in a similar situation, only reversed, as before Yule.

For the most part Kili preferred the bow, and it had its benefits. By now Mari needed very little direction and their interaction was kept at a minimum. Sometimes Mari demanded they do something else which was why they finally found themselves circling each other on the packed snow behind the forge, swords in hand.

Mari had quickly, with a sinking gut, shed her bulkiest and most warm clothes in an effort to become quicker, but as Kili did the same, all hopes of gaining an advantage were extinguished.

Lightning-fast, Kili attacked. She barely blocked him, but managed to slip out of his reach by letting the worst of his impact slide off, twirling to the side. He wasn't that much taller than she, only four inches or so, much less than average guys had towered over her back home. However, he was a Dwarf after all, being able to put a lot of weight behind his attacks. Usually he held back on that, but it was clear it was not going to be the case this day. He made another attack but this time she fared better and hit him on his back with the flat side of her sword.

"You're dead!" she shouted as he regained his balance.

He whipped his head around and glared at her and she winced when she met his eyes. This had clearly been a bad idea, and she found herself more often than not scurrying out of his reach because she couldn't parry his blows.

She initiated an attack, which she quickly realised had been a bad move. Within moments she found herself on her belly, her right arm twisted up her back and Kili's knee placed on her spine, keeping her pinned down. Sticking his sword in the snow next to her face he used it as support as he leaned down.

"I say you're quite dead," he growled.

It hurt. He had twisted her arm a fraction too high up, and he let too much weight rest on his knee. She screwed her eyes shut and pressed her lips into a thin line, suppressing a whimper. Anger flared red and hot and she fisted her left hand and smacked it hard up and back. When she made impact with his face, he lost balance and his grip on her slacked.

She pushed herself rolling to her left with all the force she could muster, hissing in pain as her right arm was trapped under her body. She cursed loudly at her ineptitude as Kili scrambled to untangle himself from her and with a hiss she glared at him as he scooted up next to her, expecting him to continue the fight. With a last effort she pulled her right aching arm out from under herself and frantically tried to come up with a way to counter whatever was coming.

When he carefully pressed her forearm against her belly and inched his hand under her shoulders slowly pushing her off the ground so she could sit, she found herself blinking in surprise instead.

"I'm very sorry Mari," he said and put his hands on the sides of her face, looking intently at her. "I didn't mean to injure you," he continued, concern etched on his face.

Keeping her breathing deliberately slow she allowed the pain to subside.

"It's okay," she whispered. "It's okay," she repeated, and closed her eyes. "I'm not injured," she murmured. Flexing her fingers felt okay and she slowly released her grip on herself, moving her arm slightly.

"Please forgive me," he pleaded, prompting her to open her eyes again. She reached up with her good hand and put it over his and smiled reassuringly.

"I hit you in the face," she said flatly and studied the redness where she had smacked him. For a fleeting moment she wondered what it would take to give him a nosebleed. If he had hit her in the same way, she'd be a bleeding mess right now, but on him it barely showed.

A grin flashed over his features. "That you did," he agreed.

"There's nothing to forgive really, but you have it. You've been in a foul mood and forgot I'm a bit more frail than you lot. But honestly, you have to tell me what's going on," she said. Kili let go of her face but she kept his hand in hers as he stared at the snow beneath them.

Tugging his hand a bit she said, "Besides, it's not like an Orc would be very considerate. I'd better get used to being thrown around a bit."

His eyes was distant when he nodded.

"Come on. Let's talk," she continued and got on her feet, not relinquishing her hold on his hand until he was standing too. He threw her a glance and nodded again. The relief she felt lifted a weight from her shoulders and she couldn't hold back a smile. They gathered the clothes they had shed and put them on again, picked up the snowshoes, put them on and set out towards the woods.

After a brisk walk they settled on a trunk belonging to a tree felled for firewood but not yet cut up. Kili brought out the water they had carried with them.

"So tell me. What's with the change?" she asked after swallowing down a generous amount of water. She handed him the water and he stared at it for long moments before he begun to speak.

"If things had been as they are supposed to be, none of us, not Fili, Ori, nor me, would have lived under the same roof as my mother and Dori. We're considered adults and should have set up our own homes. Or halls in my and Fili's case. Because of our situation, that's not something Longbeards do, unless they marry. Considering the low numbers of women, that's not likely to happen for a majority of us." He paused and drank some water.

"There is a reason why Fili and I have been travelling a lot. It gives us some measure of independence. Because it brings in money at the same time, it seemed like the perfect solution."

Mari kicked her foot in the snow. "And now you fear Fili will leave and go off and do his thing without you?" she asked and continued to push around the snow with the toe of her boot, making patterns in the snow.

He glanced at her. "I know he will." The silence surrounding them seemed to press itself into her ears. There weren't even crows cawing somewhere at the distance and she could almost hear the blood moving in her veins.

"Has he said anything?" She turned to look at him and for a moment he glanced back.

"Have you taken a look at Gisla lately?" His eyes gazed at the slender trunks of coppiced trees, and she tilted her head as she considered him.

"I look at her almost every day. We're friends, you know." Mari frowned.

"And you haven't noticed any changes? She clearly haven't said anything, if you don't know." He gulped down some more water, but didn't turn his gaze from the grey trees.

With a sigh she replied, "Kili, I clearly have gaps here. Whatever you're hinting at, I have no idea."

Slowly he nodded and swallowed hard. "She has beads braided into her hair in a very specific manner, clearly visible for all to see. It's a sign that they are officially courting." His voice was toneless and he narrowed his eyes into a squint.

Her eyebrows arched. "And how's that a sudden surprise? I mean, the whole thing is as subtle as a neon sign on Piccadilly Circus. Not that she's said anything about it being that serious, but I know she likes him more than a little."

Kili looked miserable, making her wince over her clumsy and insensitive reply, and she put her hand on his back, rubbing it. "So what will happen now?" she quietly asked.

"That is yet to be determined. Fili must have a home, but the question is where. It should be in Ered Luin, but because of this winter, he can't leave. Uncle wants to see a wedding as soon as possible, which obviously can't happen before Fili has an official residence. If both parties agree on it, they could set up one here and then at a later date move to Ered Luin."

Mari nodded. "Well, I'll not try to be cheerful and pretend it won't change anything. I know it will. Having said that, it doesn't have to change more than you allow it to. You obviously can't do everything together any more, but you're still brothers." She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"And who knows? Maybe you'll find someone too," she added softly and closed her eyes.

After a few moments Kili sighed. "I can't marry her."

Mari's eyes snapped open. "What? Why not? I didn't even know you were thinking of someone!" She abruptly sat straight and turned to look at him. "Is there a law stipulating the younger brother can't marry if an older one does?"

Kili shook his head. "No, I could marry someone considered proper."

"But there's an improper one lurking somewhere?" she asked incredulously.

"She'd not be seen as a fitting match for a Dwarf prince," he replied solemnly.

"Oh. I'm sorry," she managed. She considered this new piece of information for a while as she continued making patterns in the snow with her boot, trying to come to terms with the cold stone now settled in her gut. She had to admit that even if she hadn't articulated it, that sense of warmth he could cause just by glancing at her meant something. Suppressing a sigh she told herself that the feeling of loss was a sham one. It had never been anything but a friendship, and she was just a bit infatuated because he was charming and considerate.

"What does she say about all of this? Does she know?" Mari forced herself to look up at him. She had to at least try to act as she normally would.

A raven rawked somewhere and it echoed through the forest as if it were a cathedral. They both turned their attention to the sound of the occasional rawk and within moments a black shadow flew overhead and disappeared. Kili kept looking in the direction in which the raven had gone while Mari's eyes dropped from the treetops, travelling past him on their way.

"She doesn't know," he finally said.

"Why isn't she acceptable?" For some reason she had this morbid urge to know everything about this, but as she asked the question she could tell Kili had had just about enough of this.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry," she said quietly.

He nodded and picked up the snowshoes, and begun strapping them on. She followed his example and they headed back to the village. Their walk was quiet, just as the past weeks had been. Mari couldn't muster energy to chit chat about something irrelevant, and since it was clear Kili didn't want to talk about whomever he had lost his heart to, there was nothing much else to say. Once they exited the woods and crossed the fields to the village, she said goodbye and went home, where she locked herself in her room, excusing herself as feeling a bit out of it.

She didn't cry, but simply sat in front of the fire feeling very lonely as the twilight grew into dark night. For the first time she thought that maybe she could sense that magic, weighing on her, but then she snorted at how ridiculous that was. She was just feeling sorry for herself and that had nothing to do with any magic.

Despite sitting in front of the fire, she felt cold and shivered slightly. Chalking it up to general misery, she hurriedly tore off her clothes, pulled on the night gown and climbed to bed, wrapping the quilt tightly around herself.

In the morning she woke up with a fever making her teeth shatter and with a pounding headache, one misery accompanying another.


End file.
